SPEECH 


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OF 


ij  '» 


BENTON,  OF  MISSOURI, 


Jsr 


ON  THE 


-  •  h 


RESOLUTION  OF 


..  EWING 


••o  a 


RESCINDING  THE  TREASURY  ORDER. 


I 

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■  . .  *' 


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Delivered  in  the  Senate,  December,  1836. 


WASHINGTON : 

BLYIR  AND  RIVES,  PRINTERS. 

1837. 


>  > 


y to 


! 


Dja'08  Commerce. 


SPEECH. 


ft- 

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si¬ 

te: 

*  ^ 


The  following  resolutions,  introduced  by  Mr. 
E  wing,  of  Ohio,  being  at  their  second  reading,  viz: 

“  Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  ITo-usc  of  Representatives , 
#c.  That  thcTreasnry  order  of  the  eleventh  day  of  July,  anno 
IJomini  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-six,  designating 
the  funds  which  should  be  receivable  in  payment  for  public 
lands,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  rescinded. 

“  Resolved ,  also,  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  delegate  to  any  petson,  or  to  any  corpora¬ 
tion,  the  power  of  directing  what  funds  shall  be  receivable 
for  customs,  or  for  the  public  lands;  nor  shall  be  make  any 
discrimination  in  the  funds  so  receivable,  between  different 
f  individuals,  or  between  the  different  branches  of  the  public 

revenue:” 

Mr.  13EVTON  said  it  was  unusual  to  oppose 
joint  resolutions  at  their  second  reading;  but  lie 
had  given  notice  of  bis  intention  to  oppose  this 
resolution,  not  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  to 
arrest  its  course,  but  to  excite  attention  and  discus¬ 
sion,  and  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  motion  which 
he  intended  to  make,  namely:  to  send  the  subject 
to  a  committee,  and  to  make  it  the  duty  of  that 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  operation  and  effects 
of  the  Treasury  oider  propost  d  to  be  rescinded, 
and  into  the  conduct  of  the  banks  which  affected 
to  be  crippled  by  it.  This  motion,  and  the 
scope  and  details  of  the  inquiry,  will  be  brought 
forward  in  due  time. 

The  resolution  consists  of  two  clauses,  the  first 
clear,  the  second  ambiguous.  The  rescission  of 
the  Treasury  order,  excluding  paper  money  from 
the  land  offices,  was  the  object  of  the  first  clause; 
but  the  second  was  without  specification;  and 
making  no  allusion  to  the  constitutional  currency, 
and  imposing  no  obligation  on  the  Secretary  of 
Qc  the  Treasury  to  use  or  employ  it,  it  seemed  to  him 
that  the  whole  revenues  of  the  Government  might 
be  made  receivable  in  paper  money.  Funds  is 
the  word  used  in  the  resolution;  a  word  which  has 
no  place  in  our  Constitution,  nor  in  our  legislation 
previous  to  the  imposition  of  the  paper  system 
upon  us,  and  which  has  no  definite  or  legal  mean¬ 
ing.  It  is  a  paper  system  phrase;  and,  in  the  jar¬ 
gon  of  that  system,  is  understood  to  comprehend 
all  sorts  of  paper  credits  and  securities,  and  all 
sorts  of  currencies,  which  can  be  made  available 
in  the  payment  of  debts,  or  in  the  support  of 
credit.  It  n  a  wretched  phrase  to  come  into  legis¬ 
lation,  and  ought  to  be  substituted  by  something 
of  clear  and  precise  import  Gold  and  silver  is 
the  language  of  our  Constitution;  and  to  supersede 
them  by  the  word  “funds,”  is  to  banish  them 
from  our  financial  system,  and  to  open  the  Trea 
sury  to  the  inundation  of  paper  money 

In  the  observations  which  he  should  make  upon 
these  resolutions, Mr.  B  said,  he  should  not  confine 
himself  to  a  reply  merely  to  the  remarks  of  the  Sen¬ 


ator  from  Ohio,  (Mr.  Ewing,)  but  looking  further 
back,  and  all  around,  and  having  due  regard  to 
what  had  preceded  this  motion,  and  which  was  in¬ 
dissolubly  connected  with  it,  he  should  treat 
the  whole  subject  as  it  appeared  before  him, 
and  as  it  h»d  been  exhibited  to  the  public.  He 
had  especially  in  his  eye  a  certain  speech,  deliver¬ 
ed  in  Kentucky,  in  Septt  mber  la»t;  and  a  certain  let¬ 
ter,  written  in  Philadelphia,  in  November  last. 
Passages  from  each  of  these  would  be  referred  to 
at  proper  p'ac  s;  and,  paying  due  attention  to 
these  givings,  out,  and  to  all  the  signs  which  had 
been  visible  for  some  months  past  in  the  political 
zodiac,  he  co  Id  see  distinctly  that  two  great  ob¬ 
jects  ware  proposed  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
instrumentality  of  this  joint  resolution  :  first,  the 
condemnation  of  President  Jackson  for  a  violation 
of  the  laws  and  constitution,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  prosperity  of  the  country;  and,  second' 
the  ovei throw  of  the  Federal  constitutional  cur¬ 
rency,  and  the  imposition  of  the  paper  money  sys¬ 
tem  of  the  States  upon  the  Government  and  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  Union.  In  the  first  of  these  objects, 
the  present  movement  is  twin  brother  to  the  fa¬ 
mous  resolution  of  1833,  but  without  its  boldness; 
for  that  resolution  declared  its  object  upon  its 
face,  while  this  one  eschews  specification,  and  in¬ 
sidiously  seeks  a  judgment  of  condemnation  by 
inference  and  argument.  In  the  second  of  these 
objects,  every  body  will  recognise  the  great  de¬ 
sign  of  the  second  branch  of  the  same  famous  re¬ 
solutions  of  1833,  which,  in  the  restoration  of  the 
deposltes  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  clear¬ 
ly  went  to  the  establishment  of  the  paper  system*, 
and  its  supremacy  over  the  Federal  Government, 
The  present  movement,  therefore,  is  a  second  edi¬ 
tion  of  the  old  one,  but  a  lame  and  impotent  affair 
compared  to  that.  Then,  we  had  a  magnificent 
panic;  now,  nothing  but  a  miserable  starveling! 
For  though  the  letter  of  the  President  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  announced,  early  in 
November,  that  the  meeting  of  Congress  was  the 
time  for  the  new  distress  to  become  intense,  yet 
we  are  two  weeks  deep  in  the  session,  and  no  dis¬ 
tress  memorial — no  distress  deputation— -no  dis¬ 
tress  committees,  to  this  hour  !  Nothing,  in  fact, 
in  that  line,  but  the  distress  speech  of  the  gentle¬ 
man  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Ewing) ;  so  that  the  new 
panic  of  1836,  has  -ill  the  signs  of  being  a  1  an 
and  slender  affair — a  mere  church-mouse  concern 
— a  sort  of  dwarfish,  impish  imitation  of  the  gi¬ 
gantic  spectre  which  stalked  through  th ;  land  in 
1833. 

That  every  thing  might  appear  in  its  proper 
order,  and  every  actor  in  this  drama  have  his 


4 


proper  place,  Mr.  B.  v.  ould  now  introduce  pas¬ 
sages  from  the  speech  and  letter  to  which  he  had 
referred,  reserving  other  passages  for  introduc¬ 
tion  in  other  stages  of  the  proceedings.  And  first 
from  the  speech: 

“Mr.  Clay  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  constant-  takbsrino 
with  tub  currency,  which  marked  the  conduct  of  this  ad¬ 
ministration.  One  rash,  lawless,  and  crude  experiment  suc¬ 
ceeds  another.  He  considered  the  late  Treasury  order,  by 
which  all  payments  for  public  lands  were  to  be  made  in  spe¬ 
cie,  with  one  exception,  for  a  short  duration,  a  most  id  advised, 
illegal,  and  pernicious  measure.  In  principle  it  was  wiong; 
in  practice  it  will  favor  the  very  speculation  which  it  professes 
to  endeavor  to  suppress.  The  officer  who  issued  it,  as  if  con¬ 
scious  of  its  obnoxious  character,  shelters  himself  behind  the 
name  of  the  President. 

“lint  the  President  and  Secretary  had  no  right  to  promul¬ 
gate  any  such  order.  The  law  admits  of  no  such  discrimina¬ 
tion.  If  the  resolution  of  the  30th  April,  1S16,  continues  in 
operation  (and  the  administration  on  the  occasion  of  the  remo¬ 
val  of  the  deposites,  and  on  the  present  occasion,  relies, upon  it 
as  in  full  force,)  it  gave  the  Secretary  no  such  discretion  as  he 
has  exercised.  That  resolution  required  and  directed  the  Se¬ 
cretary  of  the  Treasury  to  adopt  such  measures  as  he  might 
deem  necessary,  ‘  to  cause,  as  soon  as  may  be,  all  duties,  taxes, 
debts,  or  sums  of  money,  accruing  or  becoming  payable  to  the 
United  States,  to  be  collected  and  paid  in  the  legal  currency  of 
the  United  States,  or  Treasury  notes,  or  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,, as  by  law  provided  and  declared,  or  in  notes  of 
banks  tohich  are  payable  and  paid  on  demand ,  it* paid  legal 
currency  of  the  United  States.’  This  resolution  was  restric¬ 
tive  and  prohibitory  upon  the  Secretary  only  as  to  the  notes  of 
banks  not  redeemable  in  specie  on  demand.  As  to  all  such 
notes,  he  was  forbidden  to  receive  them  from  and  after  the  20th 
day  of  February,  1317.  As  to  the  notes  of  banks  which  were 
payable  and  paid  on  demand  in  specie,  the  resolution  was  not 
merely  permissive;  it  was  compulsory  and  mandatory.  lie 
was  bound,  and  is  yet  bound,  to  receive  them,  until  Congress 
interferes.” 

From  the  letter  of  Mr.  Biddle  to  Mr.  J.  Q. 
Adams,  Mr.  B.  read  as  follows: 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  11,  1836. 

“My  Dear  Sir:  I  proceed  to  the  second  subject  of  our  con 
variation — the  present  slate  of  \e  currency — which  I  shall 
treat  dispassionately,  as  an  abstra  t  question  of  mere  finance. 

“Our  pecuniary  condition  seems  to  be  a  strange  anomaly 
When  Congress  adjourned,  it  le*  the  country  with  abundant 
crops,  and  high  prices  for  them— with  every  branch  of 
industry  flourishing — with  more  specie  than  we  ever  pos- 
ses-zed  before— with  all  the  elements  of  universal  prosperity. 
Not  one  of  these  has  undergone  the  slightest  change;  yet,  after 
a  few  months,  Congress  will  reassemble,  and  find  the  whole 
country  suffering  intense  pecuniary  distress.  The  occasion  of 
this,  and  the  remedy  for  it,  may  well  occupy  our  thoughts. 

i  In  my  judgment,  the  main  cause  of  it  is  the  mismanagement 
of  the  revenue— mismanagement  in  two  respects:  the  mode  of 
executing  the  distribution  law ,  and  the  order  requiring 
specie  for  the  public  lands. 

“  Such  a  measure  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  disorganize  the 
currency.  But  it  was  accompanied  by  another,  which  armed 
it  with  a  tenfold  power  of  mischief.  This  was  the  Treasury  or- 
d  -r  prohibiting  the  receipt  at  the  land  offices  of  any  thing  but 
specif — an  act  which  seems  to  me  a  most  wanton  abuse  of 
ower,  if  not  a  flagrant  usurpation. 

“The  whole  pecuniary  system  of  this  country,  that  to  which, 
next  to  its  freedom,  it  owes  its  prosperity,  is  the  system  of  cre¬ 
dit.  Our  ancestors  came  here  with  no  money,  but  with  far  bet- 
i-  r  things— with  courage  and  industry;  and  the  want  of  capital 
was  supplied  by  their  mutual  confidence.  This  is  (lie  basis  of 
our  whole  commercial  and  internal  industry.  The  Government 
received  its  duties  on  credit  and  sold  its  lands  on  credit.  When 
the  sales  of  land  on  credit  became  inconvenient.,  from  the  com¬ 
plication  of  accounts,  the  lands  were  told  for  what  is  termed 
cash.  But  this  was  only  another  form  if  credit;  for  the  banks, 
by  lending  to  those  who  purchased  la r  is,  to-jk  the  jflaceof  the 
Government  as  creditors,  and  the  Government  received  their 
noto^  as  equivalent  to  specie,  because  always  convertible  into 
specie.  This  was  the  usage  lismay  be  regarded  as  the  law 
of  th'*  country.  By  the  result -ion  of  Congress  passed  on  the 
30th  of  April,  1816  it  was  d  elated  that' “  no  duties,  taxes, 
debts,  or  sums  of  money  accru  ng  or  becoming  payable  to  the 
United  States  as  Aforesaid,  ought  to  be  collected  or  received 
otherwise  than  in  the  legal  currency  of  the.  United  States,  or 
Treasury  notes,  or  notesofthe  Batik  of  the  United  States,  or  in 
notes  of  banks  which  are  payable  and  r> aid  on  demand  in  the 
said  legal  currency  of  t  he  United  States. 

“Thi?  resolution  presents  various  alterative* — the  legal  cur 
rency,  or  Treasury  notes,  or  notesofthe  Bunk  of  the  United  States, 
or  notes  ofspecic  paying  banks.  A  citizen  had  a  right  to  choose 


any  one  of  these  modes  of  payment.  lie  had  as  much  right  to  pay 
for  land  with  the  note  ofa  specie  paying  bank,  as  to  pay  it  for  du¬ 
ties  at  the  custom-house.  If  this  be  denied,  certainly  any  one  of 
them  might  be  accepted  by  the  Treasury;  but  to  proscribe  all 
but  one — to  refuse  every  thing  but  the  most  difficult  thing — to 
do  this  without  notice  of  the  approaching  change  in  the  funda¬ 
mental  system  of  our  dealings — is  an  act  of  gratuitous  oppres¬ 
sion. 

“If  he  prohibits  the  receipt  of  any  thing  but  specie  to  correct 
land  speculations,  he  may  make  the  same  pr« '  ibition  as  to  the 
duties  on  hardware,  or  broadcloth,  or  wines,  whenever  his  pa¬ 
ternal  wisdom  shall  see  us  buying  too  many  shovels,  or  too 
many  coats,  or  too  much  champagne — and  thus  bring  the  en¬ 
tire  industry  of  the  country  under  his  Control. 

“It  remains  to  speak  of  the  remedy  of  these  evils.  They  fol¬ 
low  obviously  the  causes  of  them.  The  causes  are  the  injudi¬ 
cious  transfers  of  the  public  moneys,  and  the  Treasury  order 
about  specie. 

“The  first  measure  of  relief,  therefore,  should  be  the  instant 
repeal  of  the  Treasury  order  requiring  specie  for  lands;  the  se 
cond,  the  adoption  of  a  proper  system  to  execute  the  distribu¬ 
tion  law. 

“These  measures  would  restore  confidence  in  twenty-four 
hours,  and  repose  in  at  least  as  many  days.  If  the  Treasury 
will  not  adopt  them  voluntarily,  Congress  should  immediately 
command  it  ” 

From  these  documents,  said  Mr.  B.  and  from 
the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio,  (Mr. 
Ewing',)  the  charges  which  are  made  against  Pre¬ 
sident  Jackson,  and  on  which  this  resolution  is 
supported,  and  for  which  the  rescission  of  the 
Treasury  order  is  demanded,  are,  first,  a  violation 
of  the  laws;  secondly,  a  violation  of  the  constitution; 
thirdly ,  a  destruction  of  the  prosperity  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  Mr.  B.  would  join  issue  upon  each  of  these 
charges,  and  take  each  by  it  re  If,  and  ail  in  their 
turn:  and  first  of  the  illegality.  This  charge  was 
bottomed  upon  the  alleged  contravention  of  the 
joint  resolution  of  April,  1816,  for  the  better  col¬ 
lection  of  the  public  revenue,  and  although  partly 
set  out  both  in  the  Kentucky  speech,  and  in  the 
Philadelphia  letter,  he  preferred  to  read  it  enire, 
as  the  first  part,  though  merely  directory,  j  et  was 
directory  in  the  essential  particular  ef  showing 
who  was  to  be  the  active  agent  in  carrying  the 
resolution  into  effect. 

The  joint  resolution  q/1816. 

“That  the  Secretary  ef  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  re¬ 
quired  and  directed  to  adopt  such  measures  as  he  may  deem 
necessary,  to  cause,  as  soon  as  may  be,  all  duties,  taxes,  debts, 
or  sums  of  money,  accruing  or  becoming  payable  to  the  United 
States,  to  be  collected  and  paid  in  the  legal  currency  of  the 
United  States,  or  Treasury  notes,  or  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  as  by  law  provided  and  declared,  or  in  notes  of 
banks  which  are  payable  and  paid  on  demand,  in  the  said  legal 
currency  of  the  United  States;  and  that,  from  and  after  the  20th 
day  of  February  next,  no  such  duties,  taxes,  debts,  or  sums  of 
money,  accruing  or  becoming  payable  to  the  United  States  as 
aforesaid,  ought  to  be  collected  or  received  otherwise  than  in 
the  legal  currency  of  the  United  States,  or  Treasury  notes,  or 
notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  in  notes  of  banks 
which  are  payable  and  paid,,  on  demand,  in  the  said  legal  cur. 
rency  of  the  United  States  ” 

1  his  is  the  law,  continued  Mr.  B.  and  nothing 
can  be  p’ainer  than  the  right  of  selection  which  it 
gives  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Four 
^different  media  are  mentioned  in  which  the  reve- 
*hue  may  be  collected,  and  the  Secretary  is  made 
the  actor,  the  agent,  and  the  power,  by  which  the 
collection  is  to  be  effected.  He  is  to  do  it  in  one, 
or  in  another.  He  m  y  choose  several,  or  all,  or 
two,  or  one.  All  are  in  the  disjunctive.  No  two 
me  joined  together,  but  all  are  disjoined,  and 
presented  to  him  individually  and  separately.  It 
i  clearly  the  right  of  the  Secretary  to  order  the 
collections  to  he  made  in  either  of  the  four  media 
mentioned.  That  the  resolution  is  not  mandatory 
in  favor  of  any  one  of  the  four,  is  obvious  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the 

I  p  lap  4% 

*3  *  t  ' 


5 


United  States  are  mentioned.  They  were  to  he 
received  as  then  provided  for  by  law;  f  >r  the  bank 
charter  bad  ihe  >  just  passed;  and  the  14th  section 
bad  provided  for  the  reception  of  the  notes  of  this 
institu’ion  until  Congress,  by  law,  should  direct 
otherwise.  The  right  of  the  institution  to  deliver 
its  notes  in  payment  of  the  revenue,  was  anterior 
to  this  resolution,  arid  always  held  under  that 
14th  section,  never  under  this  joint  resolution; 
and  when  that  section  was  repealed  at  the  last 
session  of  this  Congress,  that  right  was  admitted  to 
be  gone,  and  has  never  been  claimed  since. 

The  words  of  the  law  are  clear;  the  practice 
under  it  has  been  uniform  and  uninterrupted  from 
the  date  of  its  pas  age  to  the  present  'day.  For 
twenty  years,  and  under  three  Presidents,  all  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Treasuiy  have  acted  alike. 
Each  has  made  selections,  permitting  the  notes  of 
some  specie  paying  banks  to  be  received,  and 
forbidding  others.  Mr.  Crawford  did  it  in  nume¬ 
rous  instances;  and  fierce  and  universal  as  were 
the  attacks  upon  that  eminent  patriot,  during  die 
Presidential  canvass  of  1824,  no  human  being  ever 
thought  of  charging  him  with  illegality  in  this 
respect.  Mr.  Kush  twice  made  similar  selections 
during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams;  and  no 
one,  either  in  the  same  cabinet  with  him,  or  out  of 
the  cabinet  against  him,  ever  complained  of  it. 
For  twenty  years  the  practice  has  been  uniform; 
and  every  citizen  of  the  west  knows  that  that 
practice  was  the  general,  though  not  universal 
exclusion  of  the  western  specie  paying  bank  pa¬ 
per  from  tiie  western  land  offices.  This  every 
man  -in  the  west  knows,  and  knows  that  that  gene¬ 
ral  exclusion  continued  down  to  the  day  that  the 
Bank  of  the  United  .States  ceased  to  be  the  de¬ 
pository  of  the  public  moneys.  It  was  that  event 
which  opened  the  door  to  the  receivability  of 
State  bank  paper,  which  has  since  been  enjoyed. 

Mr.  B.  then  approached  an  argument  which  he 
deemed  authoritative  in  this  case:  it  was  the  24th 
article  of  the  Poles  and  Regulations  of  the  Bank 
or  the  United  States  for  the  government  of  their 
branches  It  was  made  sinca  the  passage  of  the 
joint  resolution  of  1816,  and  related  to  the  col¬ 
lection  of  tiie  revenue  of  the  United  States.  It 
made  short  work  with  the  notes  of  the  specie 
paying  banks  of  the  States,  excluding  the  notes 
of  the  whole  of  them  from  all  branches  of  the 
revenue,  except  of  such  luniks  as  might  be  situat¬ 
ed  in  the  same  place  where  the  branch  bank  was 
situated.  The  notes  of  these  branches  alone  were 
to  be  received  in  payment;  if  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  required  others  to  be  rec  ived,  they 
would  not  be  taken  in  payment,  but  merely  noted 
as  a  special  deposite  at  the  instance  of  the  Go¬ 
vernment.  This  is  the  article: 

“  Article  xxiv.— The  offices  of  discount  awl  deposite  shall 
receive  in  payment of  the  revenue  of  the  United  States,  the  notes 
of  such  State  banks  as  redeemed  their  engagements  with  specie, 
and  provided  they  are  the  notes  of  banks  located  in  the  city,  oi 
place,  where  the  office  receiving  them  is  established.  And  also 
the  notes  of  such  other  banks  as  a  special  deposite  on  behalf  of 
the  Government,  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  re- 

IIere,  said  Mr.  B.  is  selection,  a  selection  by 
which  a  few  State  bsnks,  in  no  event  exceeding 
those  in  twenty-five  places,  for  there  were  never 
more  than  twenty  five  branches — would  have  their 


notes  received,  while  the  mass  of  the  State  banks 
amounting  to  m  my  hundreds,  were  entirely  cut 
oiT.  The  legality  of  this  selection  and  exclusion 
has  never  been  questioned;  yet  there  are  persons 
who  deny  to  President  Jackson  the  right  of  mik¬ 
ing  the  same  selection;  and  who  must  stand  be¬ 
fore  the  public  as  denying  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  the  power  over  the  execution  of  the 
laws  which  they  concede  to  the  President  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  B.  said,  that  it  might  well  be  supposed  that 
he  had  now  sufficiently  repelled  this  charge  of  il¬ 
legality.  He  certainly  deemed  the  charge  suffi¬ 
ciently  answered;  but  he  had  other  arguments  yet 
to  use;  arguments  belonging  to  that  authoritative 
class  to  which  he  had  alluded,  and  from  wKich 
the  gentlemen  making  the  charge  cannot  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  appeal.  It  would  be  recollected,  he 
said,  that  about  a  dozen  years  ago  a  committee  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  had  been  raised  to 
investigate  certain  charges  against  the  then  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  that  hunted  down  and  per¬ 
secuted  citizen,  William  H  Crawford.  These 
charges  happened  to  involve  the  point  now  in  dis¬ 
cussion,  not  as  a  charge,  but  incidentally  and  his¬ 
torically;  and  among  the  members  of  that  com¬ 
mittee  there  happened  to  be  a  gentleman  who  was 
ti  e  author  of  the  joint  resolution  of  1816,  who  is 
now  a  member  of  this  body,  (Mr.  Webster,)  and 
who  has  signified  an  intention  to  speak  in  this  de¬ 
bate.  That  committee  made  a  report,  purporting 
to  be  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  body;  and 
from  that  report.,  an  extract  will  now  be  read: 

“At  the  time  of  the  adoption  ofthis  resolution,  (joint  of  1816,) 
debts  accruing  to  the  United  States,  whether  on  account  of  the 
sales  of  public  lands,  or  at  the  custom  house,  or  from  any  other 
source  bf  revenue,  were  in  fact  received  in  some  parts  of  tiie 
country,  but  evidently  in  disregard  of  the  law,  in  the  notes  of 
the  State  banks  which  did  not  redeem  their  paper  by  cash  pay¬ 
ments.  By  this  resolution  it  was  obviously  made  the  duty  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  correct  that  departure  from 
law  as  soon  as  practicable;  and  it  was,  as  is  equally  obvious, 
imperative  on  the  Department,  after  the  20th  of  February,  1817, 
to  allow  nothing  to  be  received  in  payment  of  debts  due  to  the 
United  States,  but  the  legal  money  of  the  United  States,  Trea¬ 
sury  notes,  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  those  of 
State  banks,  the  notes  of  which  were  payable  and  paid  on  de¬ 
mand  in  specie.  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  incorpora¬ 
ted  in  April,  1816,  &c.  In  the  early  (tart  of  the  year  1817,  it  h 
represented  by  the  Secretary,  and  appears  to  be  true,  than  an. 
arrangement  was  made  with  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  by 
which  the  public  funds  were  to  be  deposited  in  the  branches  of 
that  institution  in  all  places  where  such  branches  existed,  and 
where  there  were  no  such  branches,  that  bank  was  to  designate 
fei  tain  State  banks  for  which  it  would  be  responsible,  and  in 
which  such  public,  moneys  would  be  deposited:  and,  notes  of  all 
banks  which  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  would  receive  in 
deposite  as  cash,  AND  NONE  OTHER,  were  to  be  received 
on  sales  of  public  lands.  It  is  further  represented  that,  in  tiie 
execution  ofthis  engagement,  difficulties  and  controversies  arose 
between  the  United  States  Bank  and  the  State  banks  thus  em¬ 
ployed  in  receiving  the  deposites  of  the  public  moneys;  a  de-ra 
long,  the  B  ank  of  the  United  States  signified  to  tiie  Department 
of  the  Treasury,  that  it  could  not  continue  such  arrangement; 
and  llmt  thenceforward  it  could  receive  nothing  in  deposite , 
as  cash ,  but  Me  LEGAL  CURRENCY  OF  THE  COUNTRY, 
or  its  own  notes.  The  agreement  with  the  Bank  oi  the  United 
States  terminated,  for  these  reasons,  on  the  30tli  of  dune,  ifilB. 
About  this  period  also,  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  issued  or¬ 
ders  prohibiting  its  WESTERN  branches  from  issuing  any  of 
their  own  notes  for  circulation,  even  in  exchange  for,  or  on  de- 
posite  of  specie.”  *  *  *  ’  “That  insti  ¬ 

tution  (the  Bank  of  the  United  States,)  is  indeed  hound  to  give 
the  necessary  facilities  for  transferring  the  public  funds  from 
place  to  place;  but  this  can  only  mean  cash  funds;  and  it  is 
bound  also  to  receive  money  on  deposite  for  the  United  States: 
but  it  is  not  bound  to  receive  in  deposite  os  cash ,  the  bids  of 
any  hein/c  whatever  bu:  its  own ,  ALTHOUGH  they  may  come 
within  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1816.” 

This,  Mr.  President,  continued  Mr.  B.  was  in 


6 


1824.  It  was  eight  years  after  the  joint  resolution 
of  1816  had  passed,  and  two  years  after  the  author 
of  the  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  which  has  been  read, 
came  to  the  presidency  of  that  institution.  It  is, 
therefore,  the  report  of  transactions  to  which  he 
was  privy  and  party.  The  report  speaks  histori¬ 
cal!)',  in  reciting  an  agreement  between  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury  and  the  Directors  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  by  which,  among  othe? 
things,  the  selection  of  the  State  bank  notes  re¬ 
ceivable  in  payment  of  the  public  lands,  was  to  be 
left  to  the  Dank  of  the  United  States,  and  NONE 
should  be  so  received  except  such  as  that  back 
would  agree  to  Credit  as  specie ;  that  afterwards 
the  bank  receded  from  that  agreement,  and  re¬ 
fused  to  receive  ANY  STATE  BANK  NOTES 
WHATEVER,  taking  nothing  but  gold  and  silver 
coin,  and  its  own  notes  ;  and  fina  iy  refused  to  is¬ 
sue  its  own  notes  in  the  WEST,  even  in  exchange 
for  specie!  and  thus  left  nothing  but  specie  to  be 
received;  and  after  making  these  recitals,  the 
committee  conclude  with  the  express’on  of  their 
own  opinion  of  the  law,  that  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  not  bound  to  receive  in  deposite 
as  cash,  the  bills  of  any  State  bank  whatever, 
ALTHOUGH  THEY  COME  UNDER  THE 
PROVISIONS  OF  THE  ACT  OF  1816. 

These  are  the  recitals,  and  this  the  opinion  of 
that  committee;  and  cer'ainly  they  are  correct, 
both  in  the  narration  and  in  the  judgment.  What 
then  becomes  of  this  charge  of  illegality  in  the 
Woodford  speech,  and  this  letter  to  Mr.  Adams, 
thus  confuted  and  invalidated  by  the  conduct  of 
the  bank  itself?  And  what  becomes  of  the  pre¬ 
tended  injury  of  all  those  western  banks  in  having 
their  notes  excluded  under  an  order  from  Presi¬ 
dent  Jackson,  when  they  had  been  previously  ex¬ 
cluded  for  nearly  twenty  years  under  the  orders  of 
the  President  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States? 
Why  not  complain  before?  Why  not  apply  to 
Congress  to  rescind  the  order  of  the  bank  presi¬ 
dent,  as  they  now  apply  for  the  rescissisn  of  the 
order  of  the  President  of  the  Un  on;  and  the 
politicians  and  presses  which  have  lavished  denun¬ 
ciations  upon  President  Jackson,  and  wept  salt 
tears  over  the  wrongs  of  these  banks,  and  the 
oppressions  of  the  people,  on  account  of  the 
spe  cie  order,  where  were  these  tear?,  and  those 
denunciations,  when  the  President  of  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  gave  previously  the  same 
order  so  many  years  before,  and  enforced  it  up 
to  the  day  of  the  removal  of  the  deposites? 
The  fact  is,  and  all  the  inhabitants  the 
new  States  know  it,  that  local  bank  paper, 
with  few  and  stinted  exceptions,  was  exclu¬ 
ded  from  all  the  land  offices,  from  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  down 
to  October,  1833.  During  that  long  interval, 
scarcely  any  thing  was  received  but  specie,  or 
United  States  Bank  rotes.  Local  bank  paper  was 
in  a  state  of  general  and  permanent  exclusion 
almost  the  whole  time,  and  the  whole  country  was 
quiet  and  contented.  No  complaint;  no  charge 
of  illegality;  no  cry  of  op  ression;  no  pretext  of 
rum  on  die  part  of  the  banks;  no  lamentations  and 
denunciations  on  the  part  of  politicians.  But  the 
instant  that  President  Jackson  hac  done  what  the 
president  of  the  bank  did;  the  moment  he  has  re¬ 


stored  things  to  their  former  footing,  and  put  back 
local  bank  paper  to  the  state  of  exclusion  in  which 
it  had  rested  under  the  administration  of  both  his 
predecessors,  that  instant  the  storm  of  rage  and 
grief  breaks  out.  A  new  impeachment  must  be 
got  up;  a  new  panic  must  be  excited;  the  Senate 
Chamber  is  again  to  become  the  laboratory  of 
alarm:  and  a  new  chorus  must  become  the  bur- 
hen  of  the  song— that  the  specie  order  made  the 
distress,  and  nothing  can  relieve  the  distress  but 
the  recis'ion  of  the  order,  or  the  recharter  of  the 
bank/ 

Surely  we  have  accumulated  proof  enough  up¬ 
on  this  point;  surely  there  is  no  necessity  for  any 
thing  to  refute  this  charge,  and  to  establish  the 
legal  ty  of  this  Treasury  order.  But  other  proof 
Is  at  hand,  and  though  unnecessary,  it  shall  lie  used. 
High  as  is  the  authority  of  the  report  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  1824,  and  close  as  ic  is  to  the  point,  there 
is  yet  higher  authority,  and  still  closer  to  the  point, 
yet  to  be  adduced;  for  it  is  the  authority  of  the 
same  author  of  the  resolution,  and  that  before  he 
question  was  raised,  and  while  the  resolution  was 
on  its  passage;  and  in  which  he  not  only  under¬ 
stood  them  as  shown  afterwards  ia  the  report  of 
the  committee  of  which  he  was  a  member,  but  in 
which  he  went  farther,  and  expressed  his  fear  that 
the  whole  good  effect  of  the  resolution  might  be 
lost,  if  the  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT  should 
sot  execute  it  precisely  as  that  Department,  under 
the  splendid  and  beneficent  administration  of  Pre¬ 
sident,  JACKSON  has  done! 

Extracts  from  Mr.  Webster's  speech  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  April  2S,  1816,  on  the  resolution 
offered  by  him  for  the  more  effectual  collection  of 
the  revenue  in  the  lawful  money  of  the  country . 

“  Mr.  W.  said,  that  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  call  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  House,  once  more  to  the  subject  of  the  collection  of 
the  revenue,  and  to  present  the  resolutions  which  he  had  sub¬ 
mitted.  He  had  been  the  more  inclined  to  do  this  irom  an  ap¬ 
prehension  that  the  rejection,  yesterday,  of  the  bill  which  had 
been  introduced,  might  be  construed  into  an  abandonment,  on 
the  part  of  the  House,  of  all  hope  of  remedying  the  existing 
evil.  He  had  had,  it  was  true,  some  objections  against  pro- 
ceeding  by  way  of  bill;  because  the  case  was  not  one  in  which 
the  law  was  deficient ,  but  one  in  which  the  execution  of  the 
law  was  deficient  *  *  4  *  The  situation  ol  the  country, 

(said  Mr.  W.)  in  resrard  to  the  collection  of  its  revenues,  is 
most  deplorable.  With  a  perfectly  sound  legal  currency,  the 
national  revenues  are  not  collected  in  this  currency, ^but  in  pa¬ 
per  of  various  sorts,  and  various  degrees  of  value. 

It  is  quite  clear,  that  by  the  statute  all  duties  and 
taxes  are  required  to  be  paid  in  the  legal  money  of 
the  United  States,  or  in  Treasury  notes,  agreeably  to  a 
recent  provision.  It  is  just  as  clear  that  the  law  has  beendis- 
regarded,  and  that  the  notes  of  banks  oi  a  hundred  different 
descriptions,  and  almost  as  many  different  values,  have  been 
received,  and  are  still  received,  where  the  statute  requires  legal 
money  or  Treasury  notes  to  be  paid.  *  There  are 

some  political  evils  which  are  seen  as  soon  as  they  are  danger¬ 
ous,  and  which  alarm  at  once  as  well  the  people  as  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  Wars  and  invasions,  therefore,  are  not  always  the  most 
certain  destroyers  of  national  prosperity,  They  come  in  no 
questionable  shape.  They  announce  their  own  approach,  and 
the  general  safety  is  preserved  by  the  general  alartn.  Not  so 
with  the  evils  of  a  debased  coin,  a  depreciated  paper  currency, 
or  a  depressed  and  faUimr  public  credit.  Not  so  with  the  plau¬ 
sible  end  insidious  mischiefs ofa  PATER  MONEY  SYSTEM. 
These  insinuate  themselves  in  the  shape  of  facilities,  accommo¬ 
dation  and  relief.  They  hold  out  the  most  fallacious  hope  of 
an  easier  payment  of  debts,  and  a  lighter  burden  of  taxa¬ 
tion.  It  is  easy  for  a  portion  of  the  people  to  imagine 
that  Government  may  properly  continue  to  receive  deprdcia- 
ted  paper,  because  they  have  received  it,  and  because  it  is  more 
convenient  to  obtain  it  than  to  obtain  other  paper,  »r  specie. 
Hut  on  these  subjects  it  is,  that  Government  ought  to  exercise 
its  own  peculiar  wisdom  and  caution.  It  is  supposed  to  pos¬ 
sess,  on  subjects  of  litis  nature,  somewhat  more  of  foresight 
than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  individuals.  It  is  bound  to  Jort. 


7 


tee  the  evil  before  every  man  feels  it,  and  to  take  all  necessa¬ 
ry  measures  to  guard  against  it,  although  they  may  be 
measures  attended  toith  'some  difficulty ,  and  not  without 
some  temporal y  inconvenience.  ******  The  only 
power  which  the  Government  possesses  of  restraining  the  is¬ 
sues  of  the  Stale  banks,  is  to  refuse  their  notes  in  the  receipts  of 
the  Treasury.  This  power  it  can  exercise  now,  or  at  least  can 
provide  now  for  exercising  it  in  reasonable  time,  because  the 
currency  of  some  part  of  the  country  is  yet  sound,  and  the 
evil  is  not  yet  universal.  *  *  *  But  I  have  expressed  my 

belief  on  more  than  one  occasion,  and  I  now  repeat  the  opinion, 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  on  the  return 
of  peace,  to  have  returned  to  the  legal  and  proper  mode  of  col- 
ilocting  the  revenue.  *  *  *  *  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 

the  influence  of  the  Treasury  could  have  effected  all  this.  If 
not,  it  could  have  withdrawn  the  deposites,  and  the  count  ‘nance 
of  Government,  from  institutions  which,  against  all  rule  and  all 
propriety,  were  holding  great  sums  in  Government  stocks,  and 
making  enormous  profits  from  the  circulation  of  their  own  dis¬ 
honored  paper.  That  which  was  most  wanted  was  the  desig¬ 
nation  of  a  time  for  the  corresponding  operation  of  banks  of 
different  places-  This  could  have  been  made  by  the  head  of 
the  Treasury  better  than  by  any  body ,  or  every  body  else. 

*  *  *  '  *  Thi3  Government  ha3  a  right,  in  all  cases,  to  pro¬ 

tect  its  own  revenues,  and  to  guard  them  against  defalcation  or 
bad  and  depreciated  paper.  It  is  bound,  also,  to  collect  the 
taxes  of  the  people  on  a  uniform  system.  *  *  *  *  As  to 

the  opinion  advanced  by  some,  that  the  object  of  the  resolution 
cannot,  in  any  way,  be  answered — that  the  revenues  cannot  be 
collected  otherwise  than  they  now  are,  in  the  paper  of  any  and 
very  banking  association  which  chooses  to  issue  paper,  it 
not  for  a  moment  be  admitted.  *  *  *  *  The  thing,  there 

fore,  is  to  be  done:  at  any  late  it  is  to  be  attempted.  That  it  will 
be  accomplished  by  the  Treasury  Department,  without  the 
interference  of  Congress,  I  have  no  belief.  If  from  that  source 
;  no  reformation  came  when  reformation  was  easy,  it  is  not  now 
to  be  expected.  Especially  after  the  vote  of  yesterday,  those 
whose  interest  it  is  to  continue  the  present  state  of  things  will 
arm  themselves  with  the  authority  of  Congress.  They  will 
justify  themselves  by  the  decision"of  this  House.  They  will 
say,  and  say  truly,  that  this  House,  having  taken  up  the  sub¬ 
ject  and  discussed  it,  has  not  thought  fit  so  much  as  to  declare 
that  it  is  expedient  even  to  relieve  the  country  or  its  revenues 
from  a  PAPER  MONEY  SYSTEM.  *  *  *  But  while 

some  gentlemen  oppose  these  resolutions,  because  they  fix  a 
time  too  near,  others  think  they  fix  a  day  too  distant.  In  my 
own  judgment,  it  is  not  so  material  what,  the  time  is,  a3  it  is  to 
fix  a  time.  The  great  object  is,  that  our  legal  currency  is  to 
be  preserved ,  and  that  we  are  not  to  EMBARK  ON  THE 
OCEAN  OF  PAPER  MONEY.  *  *  *  I  cannot  say,  in¬ 

deed,  that  this  resolution  will  certainly  produce  thedesired  end. 
It  may  fail.  Its  success,  as  is  obvious,  must  essentially  depend 
on  the  course  pursued  by  the  Treasury  Department.” 

Having  disposed  of  the  charge  of  illegality,  Mr. 
B.  took  up  that  of  the  unconstitutionally  of  the 
^Treasury  order.  He  read  from  the  published 
speech  of  the  Senator  from  Ohio,  (Mr.  Ewing,) 
as  found  in  a  revised  form  in  the  National.  Intelli¬ 
gencer,  the  specific  allegation  of  tins  alleged  un- 
constitufionality,  which  ran  thus: 

‘There  is  a  provision  in  the  constitution  directly  in  the  face 
of  this  order.  Those  who  drew  up  the  order  seemed  to  have 
been  aware  of  it,  and  to  have  avoided  employing  the  same 
wordsfas  are  U3ed  in  the  article  of  the  constitution.  But  it  is 
not,  therefore,  any  the  less  in  violation  of  its  provisions.  The 
constitution  declares  that  the  citizens  of  each  of  the  United 
States  shall 'enjoy  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  the 
citizens  of  the  several  States;  even  the  States  themselves  can¬ 
not  discriminate.  But  this  order  gives  to  the  citizens  of  one 
State  a  privilege  which  the  citizens  of  no  other  State  are  allowed 
to  enjoy — that,  of  paving  for  public  land  in  the  ordinary  currency 
of  the  country.  With  some,  this  argument  will  have  but  little 
effect,  especially  as  it  is  directed  against  an  Executive  act;  but 
it  is  not,  therefore,  theles3  sound.” 

Mr.  B.  said  there  was  an  error  in  the  quotation 
in  this?  place,  and  notonly  in  the  quotation,  but  in 
the  gentleman’s  bead  also.  The  constitution  was 
erroneously  quoted  by  the  gentleman,  and  that 
error  had  pervaded  his  argument;  and  if  followed 
cut  to  its  legitimate  conclusions,  would  present  n 
picture  of  the  rarest  absurdities  and  impossibili¬ 
ties.  The  quotation  says,  “the  citizens  of  each 
State  of  the  United  Spates  shall  enjoy  all  the  pri¬ 
vileges  and  immunities  of  the  citizens  of  the  seve¬ 
ral  States.”  The  constitution  said,  all  the  ’pri¬ 


vileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  ttverol 
States”  The  error  of  the  quotation  was  m  using 
the  definite  article  the,  and  the  preposition  of;  and 
this  error  unhinged  the  meaning  of  the  clause,  ancl 
conducted  the  argument  off  on  a  track,  which 
would  lead  into  boundless  confusion.  The  clause 
as  it  stands  in  the  constitution  is  general  and  in¬ 
definite,  clearly  meaning  that  the  States  were  to 
treat  each  other’s  citizens  as  members  ot  the 
same  General  Government,  and  not  as  aliens.  1  he 
quotation,  and  the  argument  upon  it,  gives  inch* 
vi duality  and  particularity  to  this  general  rights 
and  by  giving  to  the  citizens  of  each  State  t.ie 
rights  of  the  citizens  of  all  the  other  States, 
abolishes  at  a  blow  all  State  lines,  and  makes 
one  consolidaed  Government  of  the  who  e  Union. 
Thus,  by  this  reading,  whatever  any  citizen  can 
do  in  his  own  State,  every  citizen  of  every  State 
in  the  Union  may  come  there  and  do  also;  vote 
with  him;  hold  offices  with  him,  exercise  licensed 
trades  and  professions  with  him;  contend  With  mm 
for  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  the  S  ate,  wit  1- 
out  owing  it  allegiance,  or  paying  it  a  tax,  or  re¬ 
siding  within  its  limits.  What  scenes  this  would 
give  rise  to!  What  crusading  visits,  or  visitations 
at  the  successive  elections!  Whole  States  would 
precipitate  themselves  in  masses  upon  their  neigh¬ 
bors!  Some  zealous  partisans,  by  aid  ot  steam 
cars,  and  race  horses,  and  flying  chariots,  nnght 
succeed  in  voting  in  every  State  in  the  Union. 
Suppose  the  gentleman  was  right,  and  this  grand 
secret  had  been  found  out  before  the  late  presi¬ 
dential  election;  what  a  moving  flood  of  living 
heads  we  should  have  seen!  such  as  has  never 
been  beheld  since  Xerxes  crossed  the  Hellespont, 
or  Peter  the  Hermit  led  his  countless  host  to  the 
Holy  Land!  But  it  will  not  do.  The  definite  ar¬ 
ticle  they  and  the  preposition  of  which  figure  in 
the  gentleman’s  quotations,  and  rule.his  argument, 
are  not  in  the  constitution;  and  so,  the  citizens  of 
every  State  are  not  to  enjoy  the  rights  and  immu¬ 
nities  of  the  citizens  of  every  other  State.  Little 
Delaware  is  not  to  give  two  millions  of  votes  at  the 
next  Presidential  election!  Pursuing  his  error, 
the  gentleman  says,  the  States,  themselves,  cannot 
discriminate  between  the  rights  of  their  own  citi¬ 
zens,  and  those  of  other  States.  But  we  all  know 
that  they  can,  and  that  they  do,  discriminate. 
Every  election  proves  it;  every  tenure  of  office 
proves  it;  many  trades  and  professions  prove  it; 
the  requiring,  or  dispensing  with  bad,  proves  it; 
the  whole  distinction  betwen  the  foreign  and  do¬ 
mestic  attachment  is  founded  upon  this  discrimi¬ 
nation.  Truly,  the  gentleman  must  choose  be¬ 
tween  his  pride  and  his  patriotism — between  his 
speech  and  his  country— for  his  error  must  be 
fatal  to  his  argument,  or  fatal  to  the  States. 

Another  breach  of  the  constitution  assigned  by 
the  gentleman  from  Ohio,  (Mr.  Ewing,)  is  the 
temporary  discrimination  between  payments  from 
settlers  and  speculators.  He  insists  that  all  should 
have  the  privilege  of  paying  in  paper  money. 
Now,  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  does 
not  recognise  paper  for  money;  it  does  not  recog¬ 
nise  the  existence  of  such  currency:  it  i9  in  vain 
then  to  talk  of  violations  of  the  constitution  on 
such  a  point.  Again:  if  it  be  unconstitutional  to 
discriminate  between  revenue  payments,  then 


8 


Gong  rest  cannot  Ho  it;  and  yet  Congress  has  done 
it,  and  that  in  relation  to  the  lands  thems  elves.  In 
Mirch,  1823,  an  act  was  passed  to  make  the  for¬ 
eign  gold  coins  of  England,  France,  Spain,  and 
Portugal,  receivable  in  payment  of  the  public, 
lands.  This  was  a*  discrimination,  and  an  excep 
lion;  for  an  act  of  1819  had  illegalized  the  circu¬ 
lation  of  foreign  coins.  But  the  discrimination 
which  excites  greatest  complaint,  is  that  between 
the  classes  of  purchasers — between  the  scttl  rs 
and  the  speculators. — What  clause  of  the  consti¬ 
tution  is  to  be  relied  upon  to  favor  these  specu¬ 
lators*  It  is  presumed  it  will  be  as  hard  to  find 
their  names,  as  the  name  of  paper  money  in  that 
instrument.  But,  in  one  respect  at  least,  they 
seem  to  be  in  a  favorable  way:  they  are  gaining 
new  friends,  and  finding  advocates  and  protectors 
in  those  who  denounced  and  stigmatized  them 
six  months  ago!  They  are  now  in  the  hug  of  those 
whose  kicks  they  received  a  few  short  months 
ago.  But  there  is  a  distinction,  founded  in  the 
nature  of  things,  and  recognised  by  laws,  between 
the  settler  and  the  speculator  One  is  a  merito¬ 
rious  class,  deserving  the  favor  of  all  governments; 
the  other  is  a  pestilential  and  injurious  class,  dis¬ 
countenanced  every  where.  The  first  report  ever 
made  under  the  Federal  Government  for  the  rale 
of  our  public  lands,  recognised  this  distinction. 
It  was  made  by  General  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  in  the  year  1790,  and  is  explicit  to  the 
point*  This  is  an  extract  from  the  report: 

“  That  in  the  formation  of  a  plan  for  the  disposition  of  the 
vacant  lands  of  the  United  States,  there  appear  to  be  two  leading 
objects  of  consideration;  one  the  faxiiity  of  advantageous  sales, 
according  to  the  probable  course  of  purchases;  the  other  the 
accommodation  of  individuals  now  inhabiting  the  western 
country,  or  who  may  hereafter  emigrate  thither..  The  former, 
as  an  operation  of  finance,  claims  primary  attention;  the  latter 
is  important,  as  it  relates  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  the  western  country,  it  is  desirable,  and  does  not 
appear  impracticable,  to  conciliate  both.  Purchase) s  may  be 
contemplated  in  three  classes:  moneyed  individuals  and  com¬ 
panies,  who  will  buy  to  sell  again;  associations  of  persons,  who 
intend  to  make  settlements  themselves;  single  persons,  or 
families  now  resident  in  the  western  country,  or  who  may  emi¬ 
grate  there  hereafter.  The  two  first  will  be  frequently  blended, 
and  will  always  want  considerable  tracts;  the  last  will  generally 
purchase  small  quantities.  Hence  a  plan  for  the  sale  of  the. 
western  lands,  while  it  may  have  due  regard  to  the  last,  should 
be  calculated  to  obtain  ail  the  advantages  which  may  be  de¬ 
rived  from  the  two  first  classes.” 

Thus,  said  Mr.  B.  the  di  crimination  between 
settlers  and  speculators,  and  between  residents 
and  non-residents,  is  as  old  as  the  first  plan  for  the 
sale  of  the  public  lands;  and  with  these  distinc- 
tions  the  legislation  of  Congress  has  corresponded 
from  that  dav  down  to  the  time  when  propositions 
were  made  for  dividing  the  proceeds  of  the  lands. 
Up  to  that  day,  pre-emptions  were  granted  to 
settlers;  since  that  day  there  has  been  a  strenuous 
opposition  to  such  grants.  The  new  policy  is, 
not  to  settle  the  country  with  meritorious  farmers, 
but  to  fill  the  Treasury  with  paper  money  for  dis¬ 
tribution.  Formerly  settlers  were  favored;  and 
hence  the  settled  legislation  of  the  country  for 
above  forty  years.  The  statute  book  contains 
near  fifty  laws  in  favor  of  pre-emptions.  They 
begin  in  1792,  and  continue  down  to  about  1830. 
Six  or  eight  of  these  laws  were  applicable  to  'he 
State  of  Ohio,  and  may  easily  be  found  under  the 
head  of  “  pre-emptions,”  in  the  volume  of  laws 
relating  to  the  public  lands.  The  pre-emption 
system,  thus  founded  in  a  distinction  resting  on 


j  the  nature  of  things,  recognised  in  General  Ham¬ 
ilton's  report,  and  practised  upon  for  above  for¬ 
ty  years  by  Congress,  makes  two  discrimina¬ 
tions,  one  as  to  classes  of  purchasers;  the  other 
as  to  price.  The  pre  emptioner  was  a  resident,  he 
paid  the  minimum  price,  without  competition  at 
auction  sales.  Now,  if  these  distinctions  are  un¬ 
constitutional,  Congress  could  not  make  them;  if 
they  were  unjust  or  unwise,  forty  years’ legislation 
would  not  have  recognised  them.  Sir,  said  Mr. 
H.  the  Treasury  circular,  in  making  this  dis¬ 
crimination,  only  conforms  to  General  Hamil¬ 
ton's  iv  port,  to  forty  years’  legislation,  and  to 
the  common  sense  and  common  justice  of  all 
mankind.  It  has  the  sanction  of  reason,  law,  time, 
and  precedent:  and  the  only  reason  why  it  is  at¬ 
tacked,  is  because  we  live  in  times  when  nothing 
that  [’resident  Jackson  can  do,  or  not  do,  can  es¬ 
cape  attack! 

Mr.  B.  having  now  fully  answered,  and,  as  he 
believed,  entirely  refuted  the  legai  and  constitu¬ 
tional  objection  to  the  Treasury  order,  would  take 
up  the  other  branch  of  the  general  charge,  name¬ 
ly,  the  ruinous  and  pernicious  effect  of  the  order- 
upon  the  banks,  business,  prosperity,  confidence, 
and  industry  of  the  country.  The  news  for  all 
this  approaching  calamity  was  given  out  in  ad¬ 
vance  in  die  Kentucky  speech,  and  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  letter,  already  referred  to;  and  the  fact  ot  its 
posit’ ve  advent  and  act  ual  presence  was  vouched 
by  the  Senator  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Ewing)  on  the 
last  day  that  the  Senate  was  in  session.  I  do  not 
permit  myself  (said  Mr.  B.')  to  bandy  contradictory 
asseverations,  and  debatable  assertions,  across  this 
floor.  I  choo?.e  rather  to  make  an  issue,  and  to 
test  assertion  by  the  application  of  evidence.  In 
this  way  I  will  proceed  at  present.  I  wiil  take 
the  letter  of  the  President  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  as  being  official  in  this  case,  and 
most  authoritative  in  the  distress  department  of 
this  combined  movement  against  President  Jack- 
son.  He  announces,  in  November,  the  forthcom¬ 
ing  of  the  national  calamity  in  December;  and  af¬ 
ter  charging  part  of  this  ruin  and  mischief  on  the 
mode  of  executing  what  he  ostentatiously  styles 
the  distribution  law,  when  there  is  no  such  law  in 
the  country,  he  goes  on  to  charge  the  remainder, 
being  ten-fold  more  than  the  former,  upon  the 
Treasury  order  which  excludes  paper  money  from 
the  Land  Offices.  Here  is  his  picture  cf  distress; 

“The  commercial  community  were  thus  taken  by  surprise.. 
The  interior  banks  making  no  loans,  and  converting  their  At¬ 
lantic  funds  into  specie,  the  debtors  in  the  interior  could  make 
no  remittances  to  the  merchants  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  who  are 
thus  thrown  for  support  on  the  banks  of  those  cities  at  a  mo¬ 
ment  when  they  are  unable  to  afford  relief,  on  account  of  the 
very  abstraction  of  their  specie  to  the  west.  The  creditor 
States  not  only  receive  no  money,  but  their  money  is  carried 
away  to  the  debtor  States,  who,  in  turn,  cannot  use  it,  either  to  ’ 
pay  old  engagements  or  to  contract  new.  By  this  unnatural 
process  the  specie  of  New  York  and  the  other  commercial 
cities  is  piled  up  in  the  western  States— not  circulated,  not 
used,  but  held  as  a  defence  against  the  Treasury;  and  while  the 
west  cannot  use  it,  the  east  is  suffering  for  the  want  of  it.  The 
result  is,  that  the  commercial  intercourse  between  the  west  and 
the  Atlantic  is  almost  wholly  suspended,  and  the  few  opera¬ 
tions  which  are  made  are  burdened  with  the  most  extravagant 
expepse.  In  November,  1835,  the  interest  of  money  Iras  risen 
to  twenty-four  per  cent.;  mershants  are  struggling  to  preserve 
their  credit  by  ruinous  sacrifices;  and  it  cosis  five  or  six  times 
as  much  to  transmit  funds  from  the  west  and  southwest,  as  it 
did  in  Novembej,  1835,  or  ’34,  or  ’32.  Thus  while  the  ex¬ 
changes  with  all  the  world  are  in  our  favor,  while  Europe  ia 
alarmed,  and  the  Bank  of  England  itself  uneasy  at  the  quan. 


9 


tiiy  of  specie  we  possess,  wc  are  suffering,  because,  from  mere 
mismanagement,  the  whole  ballast  of  the  currency  is  shifted 
from  one  side  of  the  vessel  to  the  other.” 

•  «  i  «  i  *  « 

“In  the  absence  of  good  reasons  for  these  measures,  and  as 
a  pretext  for  them,  it  is  said  that  the  countty  has  overtraded, 
that  the  banks  have  overissued,  and  that  the  purchasers  of 
public  lands  have  been  very  extravagant.  I  am  not  struck  by 

the  truth  or  the  propriety  of  these  complaints.” 

****** 

Now  the  fact  is,  that  at  this  moment,  the  exchanges  are  all 
in  favor  of  this  country — that  is,  you  can  buy  a  bill  of  exchange 
on  a  foreign  country  cheaper  than  you  can  send  specie  to  that 
country.  Accordingly,  much  specie  has  come  in — none  goes 
out;  this,  too,  at  a  moment  when  the  exchange  for  the  last  crop 
is  exhausted,  and  that  of  the  new  crop  has  not  yet  come  into 
the  market — and  when  wc  are  on  the  point  of  sending  to  Europe 
lie  produce  of  the  country,  to  the  amount  of  eighty  or  one  hun¬ 
dred  millions  of  dollars.  How,  then,  has  the  country  overtrad¬ 
ed!  Exchange  with  all  the  world  is  in  favor  of  New  York.” 

*  *  * 

“The  People  of  the  United  States,  through  their  representa¬ 
tives,  rechartered  that  institution.  But  the  Executive,  discon¬ 
tented  with  its  independence,  rejected  the  act  of  Congress,  and 
the  favorite  topic  of  declamation  was,  that  the  States  would 
make  banks,  and  that  these  banks  could  create  a  better  system 
of  currency  and  exchanges.  The  States  accordingly  made 
banks;  and  then  followed  idle  parades  about  the  loans  of  these 
banks,  and ‘.heir  large  dealings  in  exchange.  And  what  is  the 
consequence?  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  has  not  ceased  to 
exist  more  than  seven  months,  and  already  the  whole  currency 
and  exchanges  are  running  into  inextricable  confusion,  and  the 
industry  of  the  country  is  burdened  with  extravagant  charges 
on  all  the  cbmmerciai  intercourse  of  the  Union.” 

S  .  * 

“  In  the  mean  time,  all  forbearance  and  calmness  should  be 

maintained.  There  is  great  reason  for  anxiety — none  whatever 
for  alarm;  and  with  narutual  confidence  and  courage,  the  coun¬ 
try  may  yet  be  able  to  defend  itself  against  the  Government.  In 
that  struggle  my  own  poor  efforts  shall  not  be  wanting.  I  go 
for  the  country,  w'hoever  rules  it — 1  go  for  the  country,  best 
loved  when  worst  governed— and  it  will  afford  me  far  more  gra¬ 
tification  to  assist  in  repairing  its  wrongs,  than  to  triumph  over 
those  who  inflict  them.” 

Here  (said  Mr.  B  )  is  a  wofu!  picture  of  dis¬ 
tress,  drawn  in  the  same  colors  in  which  the  same 
pictures  were  drawn  in  1833.  But  is  it  a  true  pic¬ 
ture?  and  if  it  is  true,  what  has  caused  it?  To 
these  questions  the  answers  are  plain;  fi'st,  that 
the  picture  is  not  true,*  except  in  places  where  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  its  affiliated  banks, 
have  power  to  make  it  so;  and  secondly,  that  what¬ 
ever  real  distress  is  felt  in  some  places,  is  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  deposite  act  of  the  last  session,  and 
the  conduct  of  the  banks  acting  with  pohticians 
and  with  the  Bank  of  the  United  Slates,  The 
general  prosperity  of  the  country  is  great;  but 
there  are  places,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
some  others,  where  the  withdrawal  of  money  under 
the  deposite  act  hasv  occasioned  a  pressure,  and 
where  the  policy  to  create  distress,  and  lo  throw 
it  upon  the  Treasury  order,  is  seconded  by  the 
ability  to  accomplish  what  is  desired.  This  is 
about  the  true  state  of  the  question;  and  evidence 
will  be  at  hand  to  show  it.  Mr-  B.  said  it  would 
be  remembered  that  when  this  resolution  was 
called  up  a  few  days  ago,  he  had  specified  his  inten¬ 
tion  to  obtain  from  the  Treasury  Department  the 
comparative  returns  of  many  banks,  both  in  the 
new  States,  where  there  were  public  lands,  and  in 
the  Atlantic  States,  where  there  were  none;  and 
by  looking  into  their  condition  before  the  Trea¬ 
sury  order  was  issued,  and  since  that  order  had 
gone  into  full  operation,  he  would  be  able  to  see 
in  what  manner  the  banks  had  been  affected  by 
it.  He  had  now  obtained  those  returns.  They, 
of  course,  were  limited  to  the  deposite  banks;  but 
being  scattered  over  every  State  in  the  west,  from 
the  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  throughout  the 


Atlantic  States  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  the  result 
which  they  would  present  could  riot  be  otherwise 
than  a  fair  index  to  the  general  condition  of  the 
whole  country.  He  had  looked  carefully  over 
these  returns,  covering,  as  they  did,  eight  large 
folio  pages,  and  the  result  indicated,  not  only  <4 
good  condition,  but  an  improved  condition;  not 
only  an  ability  to  aid  the  community,  but  aid  ac¬ 
tually  given-  Mr.  B.  then  went  over  the  returns 
one  by  one,  taking,  for  his  points  of  comparison, 
the  months  of  July  and  November;  that  is  to  say, 
the  month  before  the  order  went  into  operation, 
and  the  latest  month  at  which  the  banks  had  been 
heard  from  since.  He  examined  them  under  the 
three  heads  of  1.  Loans;  2.  Specie  on  hand,  and 
3.  Circulation;  and  die  general  results  were, 
that  the.  loans  in  November  were  larger  than 
in  July;  the  specie  greater  in  November  than 
July;  the  circulation  in  many  instances  not 
diminished,  in  some  increased;  and  in  most  in¬ 
stances  the  specie  on  hand  and  the  circula¬ 
tion  brought  to  a  nearer  proportion  to  each  other; 
insomuch  that  banks  which  had  eight,  ten,  or 
twelve  dollars  of  paper  out  for  one  dollar  of  filver 
in  their  vaults,  in  July,  were  now  brought  to  the 
safer  proportion  of  three  or  four  to  one  in  No¬ 
vember  This  was  proof  that  the  banks  were  not 
crippled.  It  was  proof  that  they  were  not  deny¬ 
ing  accommodations.  The  proof  was  complete 
as  far  as  it  went,  and  it  went  all  over  the  Union, 
that  these  banks  were  not  injured  by  the  Trea¬ 
sury  order,  but  were  benefitted  by  it;  it  was  proof 
that  they  were  not  only  able  and  willing  to  assist 
the  community,  but  actual -y  had  assisted  them. 
On  the  other  hand  there  might  be  banks  which 
were  not  assisting  the  community,  and  which  were 
accomplishing  a  pecuniary  and  a  political  ob¬ 
ject  at  the  same  time,  by  shutting  their  doors  up¬ 
on  borrowers,  and  throwing  diem  into  the  hands 
of  money  dealers  at  three  per  cent,  discount 
per  month.  This  was  said  to  be  the  case 
|  in  Philadelphia;  that  Philadelphia  which  was 
the  seat  of  the  new  United  States  Bank,  with 
her  capital  of  thirty-f.ve  millions,  which  one 
short  year  ago  was  to  make  money  so  plenty  in 
that  State,  and  to  reduce  interest  to  five  per  cent, 
per  annum.  Three  per  cent,  discount,  equal  to 
four  per  cent,  interest,  is  now  the  rate  of  usury 
which  prevails  around  her!  And  she  can  make  it 
six  or  twelve  percent,  per  month  whenever  she 
pleases.  Where  banks  have  monopolized  ths 
currency,  and  become  the  dispensers  oi  money, 
they  can  make  interest,  or  usury,  what  they 
please.  They  have  only  to  stop  discounts,  and 
throw  the  borrowers  into  the  hands  of  usurers. 
Pretexts  will  never  be  wanting.  Any  thing  that 
happens,  or  does  not  happen,  will  do.  The  re¬ 
moval  of  the  depcsites— the  issuance  of  the  Trea¬ 
sury  order — or,  the  last  year’s  snow.  One  thing 
is  as  good  as  another;  for  the  banks  themselves 
are  the  sole  judges  of  their  own  reasons,  decide 
without  argument,  and  without  appeal,  and  act 
upon  the  decision  without  mercy  and  without  re¬ 
morse. 

This  is  now  going  on  in  some  of  the  principal 
cities,  where  the  deposite  act,  creating  a  real  pres¬ 
sure,  gives  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  and 
its  affiliated  institutions  the  power  to  do  great 


10 


mischief.  Of  this  power  they  avail  themselves; 
but  their  sphere  of  action  is  limited,  not  general. 
Their  victims  are  individual?,  and  not  the  Onion. 
They  destroy  individuals,  or,  at  most,  isolated 
communities.  At  the  most,  they  only  do  a  Goliad 
business — kill  the  prisoners;  that  is  to  say,  the 
debtors — a  pen-full,  or  a  pail-full,  at  a  time.  The 
debtor  part  of  the  community,  where  the  powers 
of  the  B  anfc  of  the  United  S fates  and  its  associ¬ 
ates  predominate,  suffer  severely  and  cruelly,  but 
the  remoter  parts  of  the  Union  at  e  safe.  The 
Bri  rcrian  arms  of  the  monster  no  longer  reach  to 
the  extremities  of  the  Union.  It  can  no  longer 
strike  down  exchanges,  sink  the  price  of  produce 
and  property,  and  demolish  merchants  and  traders, 
in  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  south  and  west 
The  tragedy  of  1833,  now  performing  on  the 
local  theatres  of  some  of  the  Atlantic  cities,  can¬ 
not  he  again  extended  to  the  country  towns  and 
remote  States. 

Mr.  B  remarked,  upon  the  statements  in  Mr.  Bid¬ 
dle’s  letter;  he  chose  to  refer  to  that  letter  as  be¬ 
ing  the  revealed  source  of  this  proceeding  against 
President  Jackson,  and  the  fountain  from  which 
all  the  arguments  of  the  opposition  are  drawn;  he 
remarked  upon  the  statements  in  it,  that  it  was  the 
great  transfer  of  specie  to  the  west,  which  occa¬ 
sioned  distress  in  the  east;  that  much  specie  had 
gone  to  the  west,  and  that  NONE  had  been  ex¬ 
ported.  Mr.  B.  said  he  had  prepared  himself  with 
facts  to  reply  to  these  two  assertions.  Tn  the  first 
place,  a  Treasury  return  which  he  held  in  his 
hand,  showed  that  no  more  than  $1,463,656  in 
specie  had  been  received  at  all  the  land  offices 
under  the  Treasury  order,  and  a  like  return  shew¬ 
ed  that  $312, 8  i  1  in  gold,  and  $4,123,004  in  silver 
had  been  exported  from  the  United  States  this 
year.  Here  then  was  an  export  of  specie  to 
foreign  countries  of  three  times  the  amount  of  that 
which  went  into  the  land  offices;  yet  the  public 
are  to  be  told  by  the  president  of  the  bank 
bearing  the  name  of  the  United  States,  that 
no  specie  had  been  exported! 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  public  is  deceived,  and 
that  the  Treasury  order  is  made  the  pack-horse, 
to  be  loaded  with  every  thing  that  can  be  heaped 
upon  it.  The  export  of  four  and  a  half  millions 
of  specie  to  foreign  countries  is  called  nothing— 
is  said  to  be  none — while  one  and  a  half  millions, 
gone  into  our  land  offices,  has  overset  the  national 
ship,  and  deranged  the  business  of  a  continent! 
One  million  and  a  half  out  of  seventy -five  millions 
has  gone  into  the  land  offices.  Who  would  feel 
it?  How  could  it  disturb  the  business  of  the 
country?  And,  especially,  how  could  one  million 
and  a  half,  by  going  into  the  interior  of  our  own 
country,  do  all  this  mischief,  when  four  and  a  half 
millions,  by  going  to  foreign  countries,  is  not  felt 
or  known?  But  there  was  another  operation  in 
specie  of  which  Mr.  B.  had  keen  informed,  and 
which  he  should  bring  under  the  inquiries  of  a 
committi  e,  if  he  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  be 
allowed  one,  and  which  he  mentioned  now,  not  as 
evidence  to  convince  the  Senate,  but  as  a  ground 
for  demanding  a  committee*  His  information  was 
this:  that  in  the  month  of  September  last,  the 
merchants  and  bankers  of  New  Orleans  became 


suddenly  surprised  at  the  mysterious  scarcity  of 
specie.  It  had  vanished  as  if  by  magic.  A  meet¬ 
ing  was  held  to  know  what  had  become  of  it;  and 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  had  collected  and  boxed  up  $1,800,000  in 
that  city,  and  refused  a  dollar  of  it  to  her  creditors 
there!  and  that  a  bank  holding  $300,000  of  her 
notes,  had  to  send  them,  and  did  send  them,  to 
Philadelphia  to  be  cashed,  at  great  expense:  and, 
what  was  more  material,  at  greair  loss  of  time, 
when  the  city  was  o'herwise  pressed  for  specie  by 
the  double  cause  of  demands  to  supply  the  west¬ 
ern  land  purchasers,  and  failure  to  receive  the  ac¬ 
customed  supplies  from  Mexico,  on  account  of  the 
Texan  war.  Here,  then,  was  $300,000  mme 
taken  out  of  circulation  by  the  Bank  ofthe  United 
States  in  one  month,  than  all  the  land  offices  re¬ 
ceive  1  in  four  n  onths;  and  if  the  fact  was  true,  as 
related  to  hum,  the  evidence  was  clear  and  incon¬ 
testable,  that  this  bark  was  itself  making  the 
scarcity  and  pressure  which  it  has  been  falsely 
throwing  upon  the  Treasury  order,  and  upon  Pre¬ 
sident  Jackson  Mr.  B.  asked  no  one  to  condemn 
the  bank  unheard  upon  this  statement;  but  he  also 
asked  that  no  one  would  refuse  to  have  it  inquired 
into  by  a  committee. 

The  real  cause  of  the  pecuniary  pressure,  and 
derangement  of  the  exchanges,  experienced  in 
some  of  the  large  cities,  exclusive  of  that  created 
hy  some  of  the  banks,  was  the  deposite  act  of  the 
last  session.  That  act  causes  thirty  odd  millions 
of  dollars,  about  fifteen  millions  of  which  is  mo¬ 
ney  appropriated  to  useful  and  essential  objects, 
to  be  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the  vortex  of  bu¬ 
siness,  and  transferred  to  places  where  it  must 
stagnate  for  some  time  before  it  can  come  again 
into  active  employment.  Aware  of  this,  and  sen¬ 
sible  that  the  public  eye  was  fixed  upon  this  act 
as  the  real  source  of  a  bona  fide  distress,  the  at¬ 
tempt  is  made  to  turn  off  the  effect  from  the  act 
itself,  to  the  mode  of  its  execution.  It  is  not  the 
transfer  of  these  thirty  odd  millions,  they  say, 
which  has  done  the  mischief;  but  the  manner  of 
making  the  transfer!  This  (said  Mr.  B.)  is  a  re¬ 
petition  of  the  old  song  about  the  removal  of  the 
deposited.  It  was  not  the  removal  but  the  man¬ 
ner  of  the  removal,  which  had  done  all  the  mis¬ 
chief  in  1833.  And  when  pressed  to  ex¬ 
plain  what  was  th  s  mystical  manner  of  acting, 
which  was  so  magically  calamitous,  the  Solution 
was  in  the  destruction  of  confidence.  This  was  the 
solution  then;  it  is  the  solution  now;  for  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  expressly 
declares,  that  the  instant  recisdon  of  the  Treasury 
order  would  restore  confidence,  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  relief  in  as  many  days.  This  was  the  decla¬ 
ration  during  the  whole  panic  of  1833;  and  its 
meaning  then,  and  now,  is  the  same;  that  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  and  its  affiliated  institutions 
would  cease  scourging  the  country  the  instant  the 
Congress  would  grant  its  president  the  victory 
and  triumph  which  he  demands  over  President 
Jackson!  The  six  month?/  cry  of  session  1833-4, 
was,  that  the  restoration  of  the  deposites,  or  the 
recharter  ofthe  hank,  would  relieve  the  distress 
in  tvver.ty-four  hours,  and  that  nothing  else  ever 
could  relieve  it.  Now  it  happens,  that  the  test  of 


11 


) 

lime,  and  the  letter  of  the  President  of  the  Bank 
of  the  Unit*  d  States,  has  shown  that  this  cry  of  six 
months’  duration  was  entirely  erroneous;  for  the 
distress  did  cease,  and  unbounded  prosperity  has 
ensued;  while  the  only  condition  on  which  this 
was  to  take  place  has  never  happened;  the  depo- 
sites  are  not  restored;  the  bank  is  not  recharter¬ 
ed;  the  distress  d  d  cease;  unexampled  prosperity 
has  ensued;  which  is  attempted  to  be  interrupted 
again  by  those  who  interrupted  it  then. 

Mr.  B.  said,  the  deposite  act  was  the  offspring 
of  the  land  bill,  and  became  the  substitute  for  it. 
Thatb  11  had  passed  the  Senate  b  fore  the  depo* 
aite  bill  was  broui  lit  in,  and,  so  far  as  the  Senate 
was  concerned,  had  made  a  previous  disposition  of 
the  same  money.  That  bill  was  carried  through 
thedSenate  by  the  votes  of  those  who  are  consi¬ 
dered  as  the  tutelary  deities  of  the  merchants  and 
bankers  on  tins  floor;  yet  the  dispos  lion  which  it 
proposed  to  make  of  what,  was  called  the  proceeds 
of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  was  ruinous  to  the 
banks  and  the  merchants  of  the  great  Atlantic  ci¬ 
ties.  It  made  a  call  for  money,  and  a  distribution 
of  money,  which  must  have  diiven  every  debtor  to 
these  banks  to  the  immediate  payment  of  every 
shilling  which  he  owed  in  any  deposite  bank;  and 
would  have  produced  a  pressure  and  consternation 
which  would  have  pervaded  the  whole  moneyed 
system,  and  the  whole  business  community  of  the 
places  where  they  were.  This  is  the  provision  of 
the  bill.  It  is  the  third  section,  in  the  form  in 
which  it  passed  the  Senate,  and  went  to  the  House 
of  Representatives. 

“Sec.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the 
several  sums  of  money  received  in  the  Treasury  as 
the  nett  proceeds  of  the  silcs  of  the  public  lands 
for  the  years  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-three, 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-four,  and  eighteen 
hundred  and  thirty-five,  shall  be  paid  and  distribu¬ 
ted  as  aforesaid,  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  one  fourth  part  on  the  first  day  of  July, 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six,  and  one  fourth 
part  at  the  end  of  each  ninety  days  thereafter, 
tintil  the  whole  is  paid,  and  those  which  shalj  he 
received  for  the  years  eighteen  hundred  and  thir¬ 
ty-six  and  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  seven,  shall 
also  be  paid  at  the  Treasury  half-yearly,  on  the 
first  day  of  July  and  January,  in  each  of  those 
years,  to  such  person  or  persons  as  the  respective 
Legislatures  of  the  said  States  shall  authorize  and 
direct  to  receive  the  same.” 

Now,  (said  Mr.  B.)  let  any  banker  or  merchant 
of  the  great  commercial  cities,  count  up  the  sums 
which  would  have  been  payable  in  the  short 
period  of  nine  months  under  this  act.  They 
would  have  been  these;  eighteen  millions  and 
three  quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars,  on  the  1st 
day  of  July  last;  six  millions  on  the  1st  day  of  Oc¬ 
tober  last;  e  ghteen  millions  and  three  quarters  on 
the  1st  day  of  January  next;  and  six  millions  on 
the  1st  day  of  April  next;  amounting  in  the  whole  to 
forty-nine  and  one-half  million  of  dollars;  for  such 
was  the  amount  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the 
public  lands  fur  the  years  mentioned  up  to  1816. 
But  the  section  also  included  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  for  1837,  which  were  to  be  divided  out  on  the 
first  days  of  July  1857  and  January  1838,  Their 

• 


amount  cannot  be  known  so  as  to  be  added.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  on  the  basis  of  hard  mo¬ 
ney  payments, estimates  them  at  five  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars;  but  if  these  resolution  pass,  and  the  notes  of  all 
the  banks  in  the  Union  become  receivable  for  pub¬ 
lic  1  mds,  the  whole  national  domain  may  be  swept. 
Every  acre  may  be  changed  into  paper,  and  that 
paper  be  added  to  the  mass  of  the  unavailable 
funds  now  in  the  Treasury. 

Mr.  B.  deemed  it  right  to  bring  these  facts  to 
the  recollection  of  the  Senate,  and  to  place  them 
before  the  e)es  of  those  who  looked  upon  the 
authors  of  such  measures  as  their  peculiar  protec¬ 
tors.  That  third  section  of  the  land  bid  would 
have  been  desolation  to  the  great  cities;  it  was  op¬ 
posed  as  such  on  this  floor;  yet  it  passed  this 
chamber,  but  hung  in  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  until  the  deposite  bill  was  passed  here  and 
sent  down  to  supersede  it.  That  deposite  bid, 
which  proposes  only  thirty  odd  millions  f  r  ab¬ 
straction  from  the  great  channels  of  commerce,  is, 
in  reality,  crippling  banks  and  merchants  and  dis¬ 
tressing  the  great  cities.  What,  then,  would  it 
’nave  been,  if  forty  nine  and  a  half  millions  had 
been  taken  from  them  in  the  short  space  of  nine 
months?  And  what  wouid  have  been  its  effect  upon 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States?  Bankruptcy! 
For  it  is  now  seen  that  there  will  be  in  the 
Treasury  on  die  first  of  January  next,  but  about 
forty-one  million  of  dollars,  and  that  inclusive  of 
fifteen  millions  of  unexpended  balances,  applica¬ 
ble  to  objects  of  great  necessity,  and  not  com¬ 
pleted.  Let  these  facts  and  these  views  be  kept 
in  mind,  whenever  the  land  bill  and  the  deposite 
act  are  mentioned. 

Mr.  B.  had  a  question  to  put  to  the  defenders  of 
the  banks  which  affected  to  be  crippled  and  half 
killed,  and  unable  to  lend  a  dollar,  on  account  of 
this  Treasury  order.  It  was  this:  How  comes  it 
that  thete  banks  never  felt  a  wound,  nor  uttered  a 
complaint,  during  the  many  years  in  which  their 
paper  was  excluded  from  both  branches  of  the  re¬ 
venue  of  the  Fed-  ral  Government,  by  the  by-laws 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States?  Mr.  B.  had 
read,  for  another  purpose,  the  24th  article  of  the 
by-laws  of  this  corporation,  by  which  the  notes 
of  all  the  local  banks  of  the  Union  were  excluded 
from  receivability  in  any  revenue  payment  what¬ 
ever,  except  the  notes  of  the  specie-paying  b.rnks 
in  the  same  city  or  place  where  the  branch  bank 
was  situated.  He  would  now  read  the  25ih  arti¬ 
cle  of  the  same  bank  code,  which  would  sh  >w  that 
this  exception  in  favor  of  the  local  banks  in  the 
same  place  with  the  branch,  was  of  no  advantage 
to  them,  but  the  contrary,  as  it  merely  amounted 
to  a  collection  of  their  Motes  for  immediate  conver¬ 
tibility  into  coin-  The  article  is  in  these  words: 

“  Article  xxv.  The  offices  of  discount  and  deposite  shall,  at 
least  once  every  week,  settle  with  the  State  banks  ior  their  notes, 
received  in  payment  of  the  revenue,  or  for  the  engagements  of 
individuals  to  the  bank,  so  as  to  prevent  the  balances  due  to  the 
office  from  swelling  to  an  incanvenient  amount.” 

Here  said  (Mr.  B  )  is  the  condition  of  the  whole 
catalogue  of  State  b  mks,  during  the  days  of  the 
reign  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  All  ex¬ 
cluded  from  revenue  payments,  both  land  and 
customs,  except  those  in  the  twenty-five  places 
where  branch  banks  were  situated,  and  the  few 


12 


thus  excepted  called  upoq  for  the  weekly  redemp¬ 
tion  of  their  notes.  This,  in  fact,  was  an  exclu¬ 
sion  of  their- paper,  and  a  receipt  of  their  specie 
alone,  and  worse  io  them  than  a  total  exclusion; 
for  the  nominal  reception  would  cease  then  to  be 
taken  out  of  the  channels  of  circulation,  brought 
to  the  branch  to  meet  revenue  payments,  and 
thence  sent  back  to  their  own  counters  for  re¬ 
demption  in  coin.  And  this  continued  to  be 
the  case  down  to  the  day  of  the  removal  of 
the  deposites.  Yet  these  banks  never  affected  to 
be  unable  to  do  business  in  this  long  sta  e  of  total 
exclusion  from  ail  revenue  payments  by  the 
power  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
only  when  one  halt  of  The  same  thing  is  done  by 
President  Jackson  that  they  pretend  to  be  ruined 
Mr.  B.said  it  was  time  for  the  public  to  mark  the 
conduct  of  bank?,  and  to  discriminate  between 
those  which  maintained  their  course  as  moneyed 
institutions,  and  those  which  were  nothing  but 
shaving  shops  and  political  engines.  Many  banks 
had  so  acted  as  to  prove  that  they  were  at  the 
beck  and  nod  of  politicians,  and  subservient  to 
the  mischievous  designs  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States.  They  were  ready  to  close  their  doors 
upon  borrowers,  at  the  approach  of  the  elections, 
and  to  storm  Congress  with  petitions  in  favor  of 
any  movement  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 
W  ho  can  forget  their  petitions  at  the  veto  session, 
and  at  the  panic  session,  in  which  they  stooped  so 
low  as  to  pray  to  have  the  Bank  of  the  United 
S  ates  kept  in  existence  to  rule  over  them,  and 
prevent  them'  from  issuing  more  notes  than  they 
could  pay?  Who  can  forget  their  refusal  to  receive 
the  public  deposites,  when  that  refusal  was  neces¬ 
sary  to  help  out  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in 
its  attempts  to  embarrass  the  Government,  and  to 
injure  the  country?  These  things,  and  many 
others,  must  be  remembered,  and  marked;  and 
the  community  and  the  Government  must  learn  to 
discriminate  between  institutions  which  conduct 
themselves  on  business  p  inciples.and  those  which 
are  at  the  service  of  politicians,  whenever  a  politi¬ 
cal  effect  is  to  be  produced,  and  at  the  service  of 
a  revengeful  institution,  whenever  it  suits  her  po¬ 
licy  to  have  a  panic  in  the  country. 

Mr.  B.  ref  rred  to  the  general  state 'of  the 
country,  to  prove  its  general  prosperity;  he  refer¬ 
red  to  the  high  prices  paid  for  every  thing,  to 
prove  that  money  was  not  scarce  except  to  those 
whose  engagements  compelled  them  to  repair  to 
the  banks;  he  referred  to  the  rates  of  exchange 
in  the  south  and  west,  to  prove  that  the  exchanges 
of  the  country  were  good  wherever  they  were 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States; 
and  he  stated  the  contents  of  letters  in  his  posses¬ 
sion  from  presidents  and  cashiers  of  banks  in  Ohio, 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  to  show  that  there  was 
but  one  objection  to  the  Treasury  order,  and  that 
was,  that  it  na  i  not  been  issued  early  enough! 

Having  vindicated  the  Treasury  order  from  the 
charges  of  ILLEGALITY  and  UNCONSTITU¬ 
TIONAL!  i  Y,  and  shown  that  it  had  not  been 
RUINOUS  to  the  country,  Mr.  B.  said  he  would 
proceed  to  show  the  REASONS  for  which  it  had 
issued,  and  the  BENEFITS  which  had  resulted 
from  it.  President  JACKSON,  it  was  known,  an 
the  exercise  of  his  high  constitutional  duty  to  see 


the  laws  of  the  country  faithfully  executed,  had 
directed  the  issuing  of  this  order.  He  stood  be¬ 
fore  the  ;COUntry  as  its  responsible  author.  As 
such  he  had  been  denounced.  As  such  he  was 
charged  with  violating  the  laws,  and  constitution, 
and  destroying  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  As 
such  he  is  calumniated  in  the  Philadelphia  letter, 
which  calls  this  ouler,  “  the  revenge  of  ihe  Presi¬ 
dent.  upon  Congress  fur  passing  the  distribution 
bill**  As  such,  another  condemnation,  for  the 
gratification  of  discomfited  politicians  and  a  de¬ 
throned  national  bank  president — another  victory 
in  the  Senate  Chamber  for  those  who  have  been 
defeated  at  the  pulls— -is  now  sought  against  him  in 
this  attempt  to  rescind  that  order.  Under  such  cir¬ 
cumstances  it  is  not  only  right  that  he  should  find 
defenders,  but  that  he  should  be  heard  also  in  his 
own  defence.  Mr.  B.  would,  therefore,  refer  to 
the  annual  message,  delivered  at  the  opening  of 
this  session  of  Congress,  and  point  the  attention  of 
the  Senate,  and  the  country,  to  the  whole  of  that 
profoundly  wise,  transcend antly  pa  riotic,  and  pa¬ 
ternally  beneficent,  part  of  the  message  which 
relate*  to  the  general  currency,  and  to  the  national 
domain. 

Extract  from  the  President’s  Messsage. 

<-I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  another  subject  intimate¬ 
ly  associated  with  the  preceding  one — the  currency  of  the  coun¬ 
try. 

“It  is  apparent,  from  the  whole  context  of  the  constitution,  as 
well  as  the  history  of  the  times  which  gave  birth  to  it,  that  it  was 
the  purpose  of  the  convention  to  establish  a  currency  consisting 
of  the  precious  metals.  These,  from  their  peculiar  properties, 
which  rendered  them  the  standard  of  value  in  all  other  coun¬ 


tries,  were  adopted  in  this,  as  well  to  establish  its  com¬ 
mercial  standard,  in  reference  to  foreign  countries,  by  a  per¬ 
manent  rule,  as  to  exclude  the  use  of  a  mutable  medium 
of  exchange,  such  as  of  certain  agricultural  commodities,  re¬ 
cognised  by  tha  statutes  of  some  States  as  a  tender  for  debts,  or 
the  still  more  pernicious  expedient  of  a  paper^currency.  The 
last,  from  the  experience  of  the  evils  of  the  issues  of  paper  dur¬ 
ing  the  revolution,  had  become  so  justly  obnoxious  as  not  only 
to  suggest  the  clause  in  the  constitution  forbidding  the  emis-'ien 
of  bills  of  credit  by  the  States,  but  also  to  produce  that  vote 
in  the  Convention  which  negatived  the  proposition  to  grant 
power  to  Congress  to  charter  corporations;  a  proposition  well 
understood  at  the  time  as  intended  to  authorize  the  establish- 
ment  of  a  national  bank,  which  was  to  issue  a  currency  of  bank 
notes,  on  a  capital  to  I.e  created  to  some  extent  out  of  Govern¬ 
ment  stocks.  Although  this  proposition  was  refused  bv  a  di¬ 
rect  vote  of  the  Convention,  the  object  was  afterwards  in  effect 
obtained  by  its  ingenious  advocates,  through  a  strained  con¬ 
struction  of  the  Constitution.  The  debts  of  the  Revolution 
were  funded,  at  prices  which  formed  no  equivalent  compared 
with  the  nominal  amount  of  the  stock,  and  under  circumstan¬ 
ces  which  exposed  the  motives  of  some  of  those  who  participa¬ 
ted  in  the  passage  of  the  act  to  distrust. 

“  The  facts  that  the  value  of  the  stuck  was  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  creation  of  the  bank ;  that  it  was  well  understood  that 
such  woul  1  be  the  case,  and  that  some  of  the  advocates  of  the 
measure  were  largely  benefited  by  it,  belong  to  the  history  of 
the  times,  and  are  well  calculated  to  diminish  the  respect  which 
might  otherwise  have  been  due  to  the  action  of  the  Congress 
which  created  t lie  institution. 

“  On  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank,  it  became  the  in¬ 
terest  of  its  creditors  that  gold  should  be  superseded  by  the  pa¬ 
per  of  the  bank  as  a  general  currency.  A  value  was  soon  at¬ 
tached  to  the  gold  coins,  which  made  their  exportation  to  foreign 
countries,  as  a  mercantile  commodity,  more  profitable  than  their 
retention  and  use  at  home  as  money.  It  follo  wed  as  a  matter  of 
course,  if  not  designed  by  those  who  established  the  bank,  that 
the  bank  became,  in  effect,  a  substitute  for  the  mint  of  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States. 

“  Such  was  the  origin  of  a  national  bank  currency,  and  such 
the  beginning  of  those  difficulties  which  now  appear  in  the  ex¬ 
cessive  issues  of  the  banks  incorporated  by  the  various  States.” 

“  The  effects  of  an  extension  of  bank  credits  and  over-issties 
of  bank  paper  have  been  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  sales  of  the 
public  lands.  From  the  returns  made  by  the  various  registers 
and  receivers  in  the  early  part  of  last  summer,  it  wras  perceiv¬ 
ed  that  the  receipts  arising  from  the  sales  of  the  public  lauds 
were  increasing  to  an  unprecedented  amount.  In  effect,  how¬ 
ever,  these  receipts  amounted  to  nothing  more  than  credit*  is  t 


I 


13 


banka.  The  banka  lent  out  their  .notes’  to  speculators;  they 
were  paid  to  the  receivers,  and  immediately  returned  to  the 
banks,  to  be  lent  out  again  and  again,  being  mere  instruments  to 
transfer  to  speculators  the  most  valuable  public  land,  and  pay 
the  Government  by  a  credit  on  the  books  of  the  banks.  Those 
credits  on  the  books  of  some  ofthe  western  banks,  usually  call¬ 
ed  deposites,  were  already  greatly  beyond  their  immediate 
means  of  payment,  and  were  rapidly  increasing.  Indeed,  each 
speculation  furnished  means  for  another:  for  no  sooner  had  one 
individual  or  company  paid  in  their  notes,  than  they  were  im¬ 
mediately  lent  to  another  for  a  like  pmpo.  o;  and  the  banks 
were  extending  their  business  and  their  issues  so  largely,  as  to 
alarm  ansi  derate  men ,  and  render  it  doubtful  whether  bank 
credits,  if  permitted  to  accumulate,  would  ultimately  be  of  the 
«  least  value  to  the  Government.  The  spirit  of  expansion  and 
speculation  was  not  confined  to  the  deposite  banks,  but  p  rvad- 
the  whole  multitude  of  banks  throughout  the  Union,  and  was 
giving  rise  to  new  institutions  to  aggrava  ethe  evil. 

“The  safety  of  the  public  funds,  and  the  interests  of  the 
people,  generally,  required  that  these  operations  should  be 
checked,  and  it  became  the  duty  of  every  branch  of  the  Gene¬ 
ral  and  State  Governments  to  adopt  all  legitimate  and  proper 
means  to  produce  that  salutary  effect.  Under  this  view  of  my 
duty,  I  directed  the  issuing  of  the  order  which  will  be  laid  be¬ 
fore  you  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  requiring  payment 
for  the  public  lands  sold  to  be  made  in  specie,  with  an  excep¬ 
tion  until  the  fifteenth  of  the  present  month  in  favor  of  actual 
settlers.  This  message  has  produced  many  salutary  conse¬ 
quences.  It  checked  the  career  of  the  western  banks ,  and 
gave  them  additional  strength  in  anticipation  of  tire  pressure 
which  has  since  pervaded  our  eastern  as  well  as  the  European 
commercial  cities.  Ry  preventing  the  extension  ofthe  credit 
system,  it  measurably  cut  off  the  means  of  speculation,  and 
retarded  its  progress  in  monopolizing  the  most  valuable  of  the 
public  lands.  It  has  tended  to  save  the  new  States  from  a  non¬ 
resident  proprietorship,  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  a  new  country,  and  the  prosperity  of  an  old  one. 
It  has  tended  to  keep  open  the  public  lands  for  entry  by  emi¬ 
grants,  at  Government  prices,  instead  of  their  being  compelled 
to  purchase  of  speculators  at  double  or  triple  prices.  And  it 
is  conveying  into  the  interior  large  sums  in  silver  and  gold, 
there  to  enter  permanently  into  the  currenc-y  ofthe  country, 
and  place  it  on  a  firmer  foundation.  It  is  confidently  believed 
that  the  country  will  find,  in  the  motives  whicli  induced  that 
order,  and  the  happy  consequences  which  will  have  ensued, 
much  to  commend,  and  nothing  to  condemn.  ■ 

Mr.  B.  said  it  would  be  observed  by  the  Senate 
that  the  re  asons  for  issuing  the  Treasury  order  are 
introduced  bv  the  President  under  the  head  of 
currency ,  and  not  under  the  head  of  public  lands; 
and  that  in  his  whole  manner  of  treating-  it,  the 
currency  is  the  object,  and  the  land  the  incident. 
The  regulation  of  the  currency  is  the  great  object; 
and  as  the  lands,  and  not  the  custom  house,  was 
the  exciting  cause  of  the  swollen,  bloated,  and  dis¬ 
eased  state  of  the  currency,  the  remedy  was  di¬ 
rected  to  the  lands,  and  not  to  the  customs.  All 
this  is  visible  in  the  passages  read.  It  is  also  visi¬ 
ble  in  ths  original  Treasury  order  itself,  where  the 
discouragement  of  the  ruinous  extension  of  bank 
issues,  the  preservation  of  the  soundness  of  the 
currency,  and  the  safety  of  the  federal  revenue-', 
are  distinctly  and  prominently  set  forth  among  the 
high  inducements  to  its  issue.  Very  rightly,  then, 
did  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Web¬ 
ster)  express  himself  on  Thursday  last,  in  the 
few  remarks  which  he  then  made:  very  rightly 
did  he  declare  this  to  be  a  currency  ques¬ 
tion,  and  not  a  land  question!  a  financial  mea¬ 
sure  ofthe  greatest  moment  and  extent,  affecting 
every  interest  and  (ha  whole  Union!  and  rightly 
did  he  claim  for  it  that  high  consideration  which 
is  due  to  a  measure,  not  of  sectional,  but  of  na¬ 
tional  concern.  The  ge ml  roan  is  right.  The 
Treasury  order  is  a  regulation  of  the  national 
currency,  issued  under  the  constitutional  obliga 
tian  of  the  President  to  preserve  and  protect  th : 
currency  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  exer¬ 
cised  according  to  the  manner  pointed  out  by  the 
author  olthe  joint  resolution  of  1816,  and  accord¬ 


ing  to  the  manner,  though  not  to  the  same  de- 
i  gree,  that  the  regulation  of  the  currency  was 
effected  by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  during 
tile  whole  period  of  its  existence.  The  constitu¬ 
tion  recognises  nothing  for  money  but  gold  and 
silver.  The  President  is  the  sworn  protector,  de¬ 
fender,  and  preserver  of  that  constitution.  To 
permit  any  part  of  its  guaranties  to  be  subverted 
and  destroyed,  is  a  dereliction  of  duty  or  a  defect 
of  vigilance  in  him.  The  joint  resolution  of  1816 
does  not  giant,  but  recognises  and  enforces,  his 
constitutional  duties  and  powers  over  the  preser¬ 
vation  ofthe  constitutional  currency.  The  author 
of  that  resolution,  in  the  speech  from  which  I 
have  read  extracts — a  speech  abounding  with  just 
sentiments,  recognises  all  this  authority,  and  pro¬ 
claims  all  this  duty,  of  the  President,  as  attributes 
ofthe  Executive  Government,  existing  anteriorly 
to  his  resolution;  a  measure  only  rendered  neces¬ 
sary  be  cause  these  powers  and  dut  ies  had  been 
neglected.  Listen  to  him:  “There  are  some  po¬ 
litical  evils  which  are  seen  as  soon  as  they  are 
dangerous,  and  which  alarm  at  once,  as  well  the 
people  as  the  Government.  Wars  and  invasions, 
therefore,  are  not  always  the  most  certain  destroy¬ 
ers  of  national  prosperity.  They  come  in  no 
questionable  shape.  They  announce  their  own 
approach,  and  die  general  safety  is  preserved  by 
the  general  alarm.  Not  so  with  the  evils  of  a 
debased  coin,  a  depreciated  paper  currency, 
and  a  depressed  and  falling  public  credit.  Not 
so  with  the  plausible  and  insidious  mischief-,  of  a 
paper  money  system.  These  insinuate  them¬ 
selves  in  the  shape  of  facilities,  accomodation 
and  relief.  Thee  hold  out  the  most  fallacious 
hope  of  an  easier  payment  of  debts,  and  a  light¬ 
er  burden  of  taxation.  It  is  easy  for  a  portion 
of  the  people  to  imagine  that  G  vernment  may 
properly  continue  to  receive  depreciated  pa¬ 
per,  because  they  have  received  it,  and  because  it 
is  more  convenient  to  obtain  than  to  obtain  other 
paper  or  specie.  But  on  these  subjects  it  is  that 
Government  ought  to  exercise  its  own  peculiar 
wisdom  and  caution.  It  is  supposed  to  possess, 
on  subjects  of  this  nature,  somewhat  more  of  fore¬ 
sight,  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  individuals.  It 
is  bound  to  foresee  the  evil  before  every  man  feels 
it,  and  to  take  all  necessary  measures  to  guard 
against  it,  although  they  may  be  measures  attend¬ 
ed  with  some  difficulty,  and  not  without  some 
temporary  inconvenience.  The  only  power  which 
the  Government  possesses  of  restraining  the  issues 
of  the  State  banks,  is  to  refuse  their  notes  in  the 
receipts  of  the  Treasury.  This  power  it  can  ex¬ 
ercise  now,  or,  at  least,  can  provide  now  for  exer¬ 
cising  it  in  reasonable  time,  because  the  currency 
of  some  part  of  the  country  is  yet  sound, and'the  evil 
iynot  yet  universal.  But  I  have  expressed  my  belief 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  and  I  now  repeat  the 
opinion,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  on  tire  return  of  peace,  to  have  re¬ 
turned  to  the  legal  and  proper  mode  of  collecting 
the  revenue.  This  Government  has  a  right,  in 
all  cases,  to  protect  its  own  revenues,  and  to  guard 
them  against  bad  and  depreciated  paper.  As  to 
the  opinion  advanced  by  some,  that  the  object  of 
the  resolution  cannot  in  any  way  be  answered* 
ihat  the  revenues  cannot  be  collected  otherwise 


14 


than  they  now  are,  in  the  paper  of  any  and  every 
banking  association  that  chooses  to  issu-2  paper,  it 
cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  admitted.  The  thing 
then  is  to  be  done;  at  any  rate,  it  is  to  be  attempt¬ 
ed.  That  it  will  be  accomplished  by  the  Treasury 
Department,  without  the  interference  of  Congress, 

I  have  no  belief.  If,  from  that  source,  no  refor¬ 
mation  came  when  reformation  was  easy,  it  is  not 
now  to  be  expected.  The  great  object  is  that 
our  legal  currency  is  to  be  preserved,  and  that  we 
are  not  to  embark  on  the  ocean  of  paper  money. 

I  cannot  say,  indeed,  that  this  resolution  will  cer¬ 
tainly  effect  the  desired  end.  It  may  fail.  Its 
success,  as  is  obvious,  must  essentially  depend  on 
the  course  pursued  by  the  Treasury  Department.” 

Mr.  B.  would  add  nothing  by  commentary  to 
the  power  or  appositeness  of  these  quotations. 
They  were  up  to  the  exigencies  of  the  present  oc¬ 
casion,  fitted  it  as  if  made  to  order,  and  supersed¬ 
ed  the  necessity  of  argument  or  illustration.  One 
thing  ought  to  be  well  observed:  th  «t  this  speech, 
going  the  whole  length,  not  only  of  justifying  the 
present  Treasury  order,  but  blaming  the  Treasu¬ 
ry  Department  in  1816  for  not  having  done  the 
l.ke,  and  expressing  the  fear  that  it  might  not  do 
ii  in  time  to  come,  was  delivered  on  the  26th  clay 
o  ’  April,  1816,  four  days  before  the  passage  of  the 
joint  resolution  of  that  year/  consequently,  and  as 
the  whole  speech  prove.,  all  the  powers  and  du¬ 
ties  claimed  in  tint  speech  for  the  Treasury  De¬ 
partment,  and  the  Executive  Government,  over 
the  regulation  of  the  currency,  the  restoration  of 
the  constitutional  money,  and  the  exclus  on  of 
State  bank  paper  from  revenue  payments,  were 
independent  of  that  resolution!  were  founded,  1. 
upon  the  constitution;  2,  the  act  of  1789,  that  the 
customs  should  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver  coin  rally', 
3.  the  act  of  May  10th,  1800 — the  fundamental  act 
for  the  general  sate  of  the  public  lands — and  di¬ 
recting  that  all  purchasers  should  make  payment 
for  the  same  in  SPECIE,  or  in  evidences  of 
the  public  debt  of  the  United  States!  These  were 
the  foundations  ol  the  gentleman’s  argument,  these 
the  law:,  the  violation  of  which  he  had  in  his  eye; 
these  the  ground  of  his  complaint  against  the  ex¬ 
isting  administration;  these  the  future  ark  of  his 
financial  hope.  These  are  the  laws,  faithful  expo¬ 
sitors  of  the  constitution,  in  aid  of  which,  and  to 
compel  the  speedy  execution  of  which,  the  joint  re¬ 
solution  of  1816  was  conceived  and  passed.  The  au¬ 
thor  of  the  resolution  said  at  the  time  that  the  sue 
cess  of  the  resolution  depended  upon  the  Treasury 
Department,  and  expressed  his  fear  that  it  might 
fail  of  its  object  through  the  fault  of  that  depart  ¬ 
ment;  a  fear  in  which  the  gentleman’s  misgivings 
were  piophetic,  until  the  splendid  and  benefi¬ 
cent  administration  of  President  Jackson  rose 
upon  the  political  horizon,  to  bless  and  exalt  his 
country;  to  command  the  admiration  of  the  world, 
civilized  and  barbarian,  and  to  realize  the  gentle¬ 
man’s  own  cherished  and  adored  vision  of  1816 — 
the  constitutional  currency  restored,  and  the 
bloated  and  pestilential  carcass  of  the  paper  sys¬ 
tem  expelled  from  the  doors  of  the  Federal 
Treasury. 

Mr.  BENTON  repeated  the  date  of  the  speech 
from  which  he  had  read  an  extract;  it  was  the  26th 
of  April,  1816,  four  days  before  the  passage  of  the 


joint  resolution  of  that  j  ear.  He  now  had  another 
extract  from  another  speech  of  the  same  gentle¬ 
man,  also  delivered  before  that  joint  resolution 
was  passed,  and  clearly  indicative  of  his  intention 
in  bringing  forward  that  measure,  to  compel,  as 
soon  as  possible,  the  complete  re  establishment  of 
the  currency  of  the  constitution  as  the  sole  and 
exclusive  currency  of  die  Federal  Government. 

It  was  a  speech  delivered  in  February,  on  the 
passage  of  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  which  the  speaker  took  the  great  ' 
and  true  ground,  that  the  law  and  Treasury  Depart¬ 
ment,  and  not  the  Bank,  ought  to  be  the  true  regu¬ 
lator  of  currency.  Mr.  B.  only  read  the  parts 
which  were  applicable  to  the  point  in  debate, 
namely,  the  le.^al  currency  of  the  United  States., 
and  the  speedy  and  compulsory  payment  of  the 
whole  revenue  in  that  currency. 


Extract  f rom  Mr.  Webster’s  speech  on  the  Bank  of  the 

United  States  Charier  Bill,  February ,  18] 6. 

“No  nation  had  a  better  currency  than  the  United  States, 
There  was  no  nation  which  had  guarded  its  currency  with 
more  care;  tor  the  framers  of  the  constitution,  and  those  who 
enacted  the  early  statutes  on  this  subject,  were  HARD  MONEY 
MEN;  they  had  felt,  and  therefore  duly  appreciated,  the  evils  , 
of  a  paper  media  •  ;  t  ey,  therefore,  sedulously  guarded  the  ' 
currency  of  the  United  States  trom  debasement.  The  legal 
currency  of  the  United  States  was  gold  and  silver  coin;  this 
was  a  subject,  in  regard  to  which  Congress  had  run  into  no 
folly.  '  *  *  Mr.  W.  declined  occupying  the  time  of  the 

House,  to  prove  that  there  was  a  depreciation  of  the  paper  in 
circulation;  the  legal  standard  of  value  was  gold  and  silver;  the 
relation  of  paper  to  it  proved  its  state,  and  the  rate  of  its  depre¬ 
ciation.  Gold  and  silver  currency,  he  said,  was  the  law  of  tha 
lend  at  home,  and  the  law  of  the  world  abroad;  there  could,  in 
Hie  present  state  of  the  world,  be  no  other  currency  In  con- 
consequence  of  the  immense  paper  issues  having  banished  spe¬ 
cie  from  circulation,  the  Government  had  been  obliged,  indi¬ 
rect  vio’atian  of  existing  statutes,  to  receive  the  amount  of 
their  taxes  in  something  which  was  not  recognised  by  law  as 
the  money  of  the  country,  and  which  was,  in  fact,  greatly  de¬ 
preciated  *  *  *  *  '  * 

“As  to  the  evils  of  the  present  state  of  things,  Mr.  W.  admit¬ 
ted  it  in  its  fullest  extent.  If  he  was  not  mistaken,  there  were 
some  millions  in  the  Treasury  of  paper  which  were  nearly 
worthless,  and  were  now  wholly  useless  to  the  Government,  by 
which  an  actual  loss  of  considerable  amount  must  certainly  be 
sustained  by  the  Treasury.  This  was  an  evil  which  ought  to 
be  met  at  once,  because  it  would  grow  greater  by  indulgence. 

In  the  end ,  the  taxes  must  be  paid  in  the  legal  money  of  the 
country  and  the  sooner  that  was  brought  about  the  better 

9  *  *  *  .  +  *  * 

If  Congress  were  to  nass  forty  statutes  on  the  subject,  he  said, 
they  woul  1  not  make  the  law  more  conclusive  than  it  now  was, 
that  not  ittg  should  be  received  in  payment  of  duties  to  the 
Government  but  specie  ;  and  yet  no  regard  was  paid  to  the  im¬ 
perative  injunction*  of  the  law  in  this  respect.  The  whole 
strength  of  the  Government ,  he  teas  of  opinion ,  ought  to  be 
put  forth  to  compel  the  payment  of  the  duties  and  taxes  to  the 
Government  in  the  legal  currency  of  the  country.” 

Now  (said  Mr.  B.)  the  Senate  v.  ill  doubtless  be 
willing  to  hear  what  was  sai  1  by  the  friends  of  the 
administration  in  1816,  to  those  powerful  appeals 
from  the  gentleman,  who  so  strenuously  plead  the 
cause  of  the  laws,  the  constitution  and  hard  mo¬ 
ney.  He  had  looked  over  the  speeches  of  that  day, 
and  found  the  whole  of  their  answers  compressed 
into  a  short  paragraph  by  Mr.  Sharpe  of  Kentucky, 
a  gentleman  of  genius  and  ability,  and  whose  tra¬ 
gical  death  had  since  attracted  so  much  Jpublic 
notice  and  commiseration. 

“In  reply  to  the  argument  of  Mr.  Webster,  that  the  remedy 
for  the  evil  was  in  the  power  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
by  requirina  payment  of  the  dues  to  the  Government  in  specie, 
Mr.  S.  said  the  gentleman  had  not  demonstrated  that  there  was 
specie  enough  in  the  country  for  the  purposes  of  the  payment 
of  the  revenue  to  the  Treasury,  nor  that  the  banks  have  not  the 
means  ultimately  to  force  the  Government  to  take  their  paper 
in  payments  to  the  Treasury.  Toe  disposition  was  riot  want 
ing  in  the  officer  at  the  head  of  that  department  to  appy  th& 

'  rtme  Jy,  if  it  was  in  h's  power.1'  A 


15 


I 


This  was  the  answer!  a  deplorable  confession 
of  the  condition  to  which  the  Federal  Treasury 
had  been  reduced  by  receiving  State  bank  paper 
in  payment  of  the  federal  revenues!  That  policy 
had  began  under  General  Hamilton,  and  followed 
up  by  other  secretaries,  in  violation  of  the  laws 
and  Constitution,  until  nothing  but  unconvertible 
paper  remained  in  the  Treasury,  and  little  else  in 
the  country.  All  their  fine  phrases  about  specie 
paying  banks,  and  paper  equivalent  to  specie,  and 
no  paper  but  what  the  collectors  and  depositories 
cf  the  revenue  would  receive  as  cash;  all  these 
holiday  phrases  had  ended  as  such  schemes  must 
for  ever  end,  in  the  eventual  genera!  use  of  paper, 
the  eve  ntual  general  banishment  of  specie,  and 
the  eventual  general  stoppage  of  banks,  and  uni- 
verbal  depreciation  of  paper  money.  This  was  the 
only  answer  which  could  be  given  in  1816,  and 
the  only  one  that  could  be  given  until  P resident 
Jackson’s  measures  for  restoring  the  constitutional 
currency  have  raised  that  currency  to  seventy  five 
millions  of  dollars.  There  is  now  specie  enough 
in  the  country  to  make  all  revenue  payments  in 
gold  and  silver;  and  the  purchasers  of  the  public 
land,  speculators  and  bank  borrowers  excepted, 
have  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  specie  to  tu  ike 
their  payments.  Land  office  retui  ns  pro v  e  this.  The 
sum  of  $1,463,656  was  paid  into  the  land  office, 
in  gold  and  silver,  from  the  loth  of  August,  when 
the  order  took  effect,  down  to  the  middle  of  No¬ 
vember,  to  which  the  returns  were  nude  up. 
This  was  a  million  and  a  half  for  three  months, 
being  at  the  rate  of  about  six  millions  per  annum. 
This  would  buy  near  five  millions  of  acres  of  land 
at  the  present  minimum  price;  and  five  millions 
of  acres  of  public  lands,  in  addition  to  other 
sources  of  supply,  is  double  as  much  as  the  pro¬ 
gressive  settlement  of  the  country  has  ever  re¬ 
quired.  Does  the  demand  for  this  small  sum — a 
sum  which  does  not  go  out  of  the  country,  but  en¬ 
ters  immediately  into  general  circulation  through 
the  Government  payments— cannot  such  a  demand 
be  supplied  out  of  the  seventy-five  millions  in  the 
country,  especially  when  four  and  a  half  millions 
were  exported  to  foreign  parts  this  very  year,  not 
to  return  again?  Of  the  seventy-five  millions  of 
specie  in  the  country,  the  banks  alone  were  com¬ 
puted  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  have 
forty  five  millions  in  their  vaults.  Can  they  not 
spare  a  few  millions  for  the  service  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  especially  when  the  measures  of  President 
Jackson’s  administration  has  increased  their  sup¬ 
plies  of  the  precious  metals  from  twenty-five  to 
for! y- five  millions  in  three  years?  Mr.  H.  would 
subjoin  from  the  Treasury  report,  the  state¬ 
ment  of  specie  in  all  the  banks  in  the  United 
States,  as  far  as  obtained  at  the  Treasury 
Department,  first  premising  that  the  report  was 
not  complete.  The  number  of  banks  in  the 
United  States  and  their  branches,  are  near  1,000! 
Their  names  occupy  twelve  columns  in  Bicknell’s 
Counterfeit  Detector,  with  nearly  eighty  names  in 
each  column!  The  Treasury  report  does  not 
include  them  all,  but  the  main  part,  and  their 
specie  is  reported  thus:  '  , 

October,  1833,  -  -  $25,000,000 

January,  1834,  *  -  27,000,000 


January,  1835,  -  -  43,000,000 

January,  1836,  -  -  40,000,000 

December,  1836,  -  45,000,000 

Here  is  an  increase  of  specie  in  their  vaults, 
said  Mr.  B.  of  twenty  millions  in  three  years,  and 
of  five  millions  of  dollars  during  the  very  year  of 
the  Treasury  order’s  existence!  a  fact  which,  of 
itself,  exposes,  and  puts  to  shame,  the  whole  story 
of  their  distress  and  ruin,  and  inability  to  aid  the 
community  on  account  of  this  order,  or  to  furnish 
the  specie  which  it  requires.  The  fact  ii  con¬ 
clusive!  it  stamps  the  whole  contrivance  on  the  part 
of  the  banks  which  have  engaged  in  it,  as  a  shameful 
and  fraudulent  imposition  upon  the  public.  It  is 
enough  of  itself;  but  the  custom  house  books  show 
that  these  banks  would  in  reality  h^ve  increased 
their  specie  to  ten  millions  this  year,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  sums  expo  ted  to  foreign  countries.  The 
exports  of  specie,  up  to  near  the  end  of  November, 
w.  re  $4,485,815;  of  which  $312,811  was  in  gold. 
But  this  is  nothing,  according  to  the  Philadelphia 
letter.  .  It  is  nothing;  while  the  one-third  of  that 
sum  going  into  our  land  offices,  and  thence 
through  Government  payments  to  the  people,  is 
to  create  intense  distress,  derange  the  exchanges, 
deprive  the  banks  which  affect  to  be  injured  by 
tne  1  i  casury  o*  dvr  ol  all  capacity  to  make  loans 
to  business  men,  and  justify  them  i.-i  throwing' 
borro  wers  into  the  hands  of  usurers  to  be  fined  at 

the  rate  of  three  per  cent,  per  month  discount _ 

cquvl  to  four  per  cent,  interest— for  the  use  of 
money. 

ButMr.  B.  had  anotlu-  r  test  to  apply  to  the  capa¬ 
city  of  those  banks  to  furnish  the  small  amount  of 
five  millions  of  dollars  per  annum  for  the  purchase 
of  public  lands.  It  was  ui  the  contrast  exhibited  by 
(he  one  thousand  banks  of  the  United  States  with 
what  is  done  by  a  single  banker  in  the  English 
county— he  might  almost  say  kingdom  instead  of 
county,  for  Lancashire,  in  point  of  wealth,  is 
equal  to  the  second  rate  kingdoms  of  Europe— in 
the  English  county  of  Lancashire,  and  where 
there  are  no  local  paper  issuing  banks  or  bank¬ 
ers.  He  would  give  the  sworn  words  of  Samuel 
Jones  Lloyd,  Lsq.  a  banker  examined  before  the 
committee  of  thirty-one  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1832;  a  committee  of  which  Lord 
Althorpe  was  chairman,  and  such  men  as  Sir  Ro¬ 
bert  Peel,  Lord  John  Russell,  Mr.  Goulborn,  Sir 
Henry  Parnell,  Mr.  Baring,  an\d  m  re  than  two 
dozen  scarcely  their  inferiors,  were  members,; 
and  in  which  such  men  as  the  Governor  of  the 
-’■rnk  of  England,  Mr.  N.  M.  Rothschild,  and  an 
hundred  distinguished  bankers  and  merchants 
were  witnesses.  Mr.  Lloyd,  among  other  things, 
testified  to  the  quantity  of  gold  paid  weekly  by  a 
single  banking  establishment,  his  own,  lor  wages 
t y  working  people  in  the  city  of  Manchester,  one 
out  of  the  many  great  cities  which  Lancashire 
contains.  This  is  the  part  of  his  evidence  relat¬ 
ing  to  this  point: 

“A  great  amount  in  gold  is  paid  at  Manchester  in  wiges, 
Witness’s  house  issues  about  25,000  sovereigns  weekly.  Then 
issue  was  formerly  in  one  pound  notes.  There  is  no  local  issue 
in  Lancashire.” 

Here  are  three  statements,  (said  Mr.  B.)  which 
ought  t«  be  stereotyped  on  the  head  and  heart  of 
friend  to  the  constitutional  currency  of  our  Ame¬ 
rica.  1.  Twenty-five  thousand  sovereigns  paid 


1G 


\ 

weekly  by  one  banking  hou9e,  for  wages  to 
working  people.  2.  This  amount  formerly  paid  in 
one  pound  notes.  3.  No  local  bank  issuing  paper 
no?-  in  Lancashire. 

Confining  his  remarks  to  one  only  of  these  state¬ 
ments — the  amount  of  weekly  payments  in  gold, 
Mr.  B.  said  the  annual  amount  was  one  million 
three  hundred  thousand  sovereigns,  equal  to  six 
millions  and  a  half  of  dollars!  This  was  paid  by 
a  single  banking  house;  and  are  we  to  believe  that 
the  1,000  banks  in  the  United  States  cannot  fur¬ 
nish  the  same  amount  for  the  purchase  of  the 
public  lands?  And  are  we,  after  attempting  to 
make  them  do  it,  to  be:  clamored  down  by  a  com¬ 
bined  cry  from  speculations,  a  part  of  the  banks, 
and  politicians,  that  the  country  was  paralyzed  and 
desolated  by  the  experiment,  and  that  all  further 
attempt  must  instantly  cease? 

Mr.  B.  would  make  a  short  issue  with  all  these 
complaining  banks;  they  either  have,  or  have 
not,  their  proportion  of  the  forty-five  millions  of 
specie  which  they  report  is  in  their  vaults.  If 
they  have  it,  there  «s  no  difficulty  in  furnishing 
specie  for  the  land  offices;  if  thev  have  it  not, 
then  dhsir  returns  are  deceptive — their  periodical 
exhibitions  of  specie  are  nothing  but  show  money; 
and  the  sooner  the  people  find  out  their  hollow¬ 
ness  and  emptiness,  the  better  for  the  whole  com¬ 
munity. 

But  (continued  Mr.  B. )  let  the  amount  of  specie 
be  what  it  may  in  the  banks,  the  fact  is  that  there 
is  about  seventy-five  millions  in  the  country,  and 
a  goodly  part  of  that  is  in  the  hands  of  the  commu¬ 
nity.  In  October,  1833,  when  the  deposites  were 
removed,  the  whole  amount  of  specie  in  the  bank, 
was  returned  at  about  twenty  live  millions,  and 
that  in  the  hands  of  the  community  was  computed 
at  only  four  mi  lions.  The  community  is  now 
computed  to  have  twenty-eight  millions,  and  the 
annua!  increase  is  thus  reported  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury; 


Dates. 

Specie  i  i  active  circulation. 

Year. 

October,  1833, 

$4,000,000 

1st  January,  1834, 

12,000,000 

1st  January,  1885, 

18,000,000 

1st  January,  1836. 

23,000.000 

1st  December,  1836, 

28.000,000 

t 

Here  then  is  a  sum  in  the  hands  of  the  column- 

nity,  sufficient  to  supply  the  public  l»nd  demand, 
on  account  of  actual  settlers,  four  times  over.  The 
rapidity  with  which  gold  and  silver  has  increased 
since  the  commencement  of  the  operations  t®  re¬ 
store  the  constitutional  currency,  sh  uld  banish 
all  doubt  on  the  practicability  of  doing  it.  See 
what  has  been  done  in  four  years  against  the  pow¬ 
erful  opposition,  the  systematic  resistance,  and  the 
scoffiirig.s  and  jeerings  of  a  gn  at  political  and 
moneyed  party.  Four  yt  ars  more  may  he  equally 
Successful,  if  these  resolutions  can  be  defeated; 
and  instead  of  seventy-five  millions,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  millions,  and  nearly  forty  millions  of 
gold,  may  be  in  the  country.  But  nobody  ex¬ 
pects  this  amount  to  come  into  the  country,  or 
what  is  in  it  now  to  remain,  unless  the  Federal 


Government  can  continue  its  onward  course  in  the 
reformation  of  the  currency.  If  it  relapses  into  a 
paper  money  currency,  the  whole  community 
must  relapse  into  it  also;  and  the  result  must  be, 
what  it  lias  been  heretofore,  universal  banishment 
of  the  precious  metals,  the  eventual  stoppage  oft 
all  the  State  banks,  and  a  call  for  the  re -establish¬ 
ment  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  as  the  only 
safe  regulator  oi  the  State  currencies. 

The  increase  of  banks  and  paper  money,  and 
the  necessity  of  restraining  the  issues  of  these 
corporations,  as  alleged  in  the  President’s  message, 
was  next  adverted  to  by  Mr.  B.  He  referred  to 
the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
which  showed  these  results; 


Dates. 

Paper  in  active  cir¬ 
culation. 

Near  1  October 

1833  - 

$80,000,000 

1  January 

1834  - 

76,000,00;) 

1  January 

1835  - 

82,000,000 

1  January 

1836  - 

103,000,000 

1  December 

1836  - 

120,000,000 

Here  is  an  increase  of  about  forty  millions  of 
paper  money  in  two  years.  But  it  is  not  the 
whole  increase  in  that  time.  The  computation  is 
principally  made  from  the  returns  of  the  old  banks; 
while  one  hundred  and  six  new  ones,  with  capitals 
of  sixty  millions,  had  been  created;  and  twelve 
millions  and  three  quarters  of  increased  capital  to 
the  old  banks,  had  been  granted  during  ihe  past 
winter;  so  that  fifty  millions  of  increase  of  paper 
was  probably  the  amount  when  the  Treasury 
order  was  issued,  and  the  increase  going  on  with 
a  deplorable  rapidity.  The  national  domain  was 
the  object  that  was  attracting  it.  The  temptation 
was  irresistible.  A  quire  of  paper,  speckled 
over  with  figures,  would  transmute  in  t 
100,000  acres  of  land;  a  ream  of  paper  into 
a  million  of  acres.  One  thousand  engineo 
were  at  work,  striking  this  paper;  hosts  of  specu¬ 
lators,  loaded  with  bales  of  it,  were  on  their  way 
to  all  the  new  States.  It  was  evident  the  national 
domain  was  becoming  a  fund  for  the  redemption 
of  ail  this  paper,  H  was  all  receivable  in  exchange 
for  lands;  and  the  holders  of  these  bills  seem  to 
consider  them  as.  assignats,  like  those  of  the 
French  National  Convention,  convertible  into  the 
territory  of  the  Republic  at  the  will  ef  the  posses¬ 
sor,  vnd  the  faster  the  better.  This  was  the  state 
of  things  on  the  rise  of  Congress,  and  the  two  halls 
of  that  body  had  resounded  with  the  denunciation 
of  the  ruinous  aspect  of  this  exchange  of  land  for 
paper,  for  months  before  the  adjournment  took 
place.  The  President,  acting  .under  the  constitu¬ 
tion  and  laws  of  the  country,  applied  the  I'emedj 
vvlrch  the  crisis  required,  and  which  the  laws 
and  constitution  authorized.  He  saved  the  na¬ 
tions)  domain;  he  checked  the  expansion  of  the 
paper  syste m;  he  saved  the  Treasury  from  a  flight¬ 
ful  accumulation  of  * ‘unavailable  fun  ds;*'  and 
he  prevented  that  catastrophe  in  the  State  banks 
to  which  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  is  anxious¬ 
ly  looking,  systematically  promoting,  and  impa- 


17 


tiently  awaiting!  that  catastrophe  in  the  local 
banks  which  would  again  disgrace  and  discredit 
them,  and  bring  forth  the  whole  United  States 
Bank  party  to  exclaim,  ice  fold  you  so/  we  told 
you  this  would  be  the  consequence  of  not  renew¬ 
ing  cur  charter!  ami  now  you  all  see  it!  and  we 
demand  the  re-establishment  of  the  national  bank, 
as  the  only  means  of  regulating  the  State  banks! 
President  Jackson  has  prevented  all  this;  arid  has 
shown  that  the  constitutional  currency  tan  regu¬ 
late  the  State  banks;  and  for  tills  he  has  drawn 
upon  himseif  the  denunciations  of  disappointed 
speculators,  disappointed  politicians,  and  disap¬ 
pointed  bankers.  He  has  prevented  many  and 
great  evils  and  among  others  the  further 
depreciation  of  the  currency.  Fifty  millions 
of  additional  paper,  put  out  in  two  years 
has  enabled  the  banks  to  imprison  45  millions 
of  specie,  and  the  whole  130  millions  of  pa¬ 
per  money  afloat  during  the  summer  has  depre¬ 
ciated  the  general  currency;  which  is  seen  by  the 
imports  ion  of  wheat  from  Germany  and  the  Black 
sea,  by  the  importation  of  beef  and  pork  from 
Ireland,  bay  from  Scotland,  rnd  many  other  ne¬ 
cessaries  of  life  from  Europe;  which  is  seen  in  the 
rise  of  price  in  every  article  which  depends  for  its 
sale  on  our  depreciated  currency;  for  articles 
whose  price  depends  upon  foreign  markets,  where 
the  notes  of  our  1,000  banks  are  not  taken  for  mo¬ 
ney,  as  tobacco  and  cotton  ha  e  not  risen.  The 
progress  and  the  evils  of  this  depreciation,  which 
commenced  before  the  Treasury  order — which 
that  order  has’ checked,  but  whit  h  must  recom¬ 
mence  with  its  recession,  is  powerfully  sketched  in 
that  part  of  President  Jackson’s  message  which 
relates  to  the  currency.  He  savs: 

“T!  le  progress  oi'an  expansion,  or  rather  a  depreciation  of  j 
the  currency,  by  excessive  bank  issues,  is  always  attended  by  a 
Joss  to  the  laboring  classes.  This  portion  of  the  community 
has  neither  time  not*  opportunity  to  watch  the  ebbs  and  flows 
of  the  money  market.  Engaged  front  day  to  day  in  their  useful 
toils,  they  do  not  perceive  that  although  their  wages  are  nom¬ 
inally  the  same,  or  even  somewhat  higher,  they  are  greatly  re¬ 
duced,  in  fact,  by  the  rapid  increase  of  a  spurious  currency, 
which,  as  it  appears  to  make  money  abound,  they  are  at  first 
inclined  to  consider  a  blessing.  It  is  not  so  with  the  specula¬ 
tor,  by  whom  this  operation  is  better  understood,,  and  is  made 
to  contribute  to  his  advantage.  It  is  not  until  the  prices  of  the 
necessaries  of  life  become  so  dear  that  the  laboring  classes  can¬ 
not  supply  their  wants  out  of  their  wages,  that  the  wages  rise 
and  gradually  reach  a  justly  proportioned  rate  to  tha;  of  the 
produ  s  >  their  labor.  When  thus,  by  the  depreciation ,  in 
consequence  of  the  quantity  of  paper  in  circulation,  wages  as 
well  as  prices  be  come  exorbitant,  it  is  soon  found  that  the  whole 
effect  of  the  adulteration  is  a  tariff  on  our  home  industry  for 
ihe  benefit  of  the  countries  where  gold  and  pi: vc  r  civcu'ate  end 
maintain  uniformity  and  moderation  in  prices.  It  is  then  per¬ 
ceived  that  the  enhancement  oi  the  price  of.  land  and  labor, 
produces  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  price  of  products, 
until  these  products  do  not  sustain  a  competition  with  similar 
ones  in  other  countries,  and  thus  both  manufactured  and  agri¬ 
cultural  productions  cease  to  bear  exportation  from  the  coun¬ 
try  of  this  spurious  currency,  because  they  cannot  be  sold  fur 
cost.  This  is  the  process  by  which  specie  is  banished  by  the 
paper  of  the  banks.  Their  vaults  are  soon  exhausted  to  pay 
for  foreign  commodities ;  the  next  step  is  a  stoppage  of  specie 
p  iy  merit — a  total  degradation  of  paper  as  a  currency — unusual 
depression  of  prices,  the  rum  of  debtors,  and  the  accumulation 
of  property  in  the  hands  of  creditors  and  cautious  capitalists.” 

Thi.<,  said  Mr.  B.  is  the  progress  ami  effect  oi 
a  depreciated  paper  currency.  The  imprudence, 
or  the  criminality,  of  t  anks  of  issue,  are  equally 
the  sources  of  this  depreciation;  and  the  commu¬ 
nity  is  equally  the  victim  of  their  misconduct, 
whether  it  results  from  accident,  folly,  or  de¬ 
sign.  It  is  established  in  England  that  n  sud¬ 
den  increase  of  one  mi. hurt  sterling,  by  Bank 
2 


of  England  issues,  will,  in  many  states  fif  the 
moneyed  system,  produce  a  depreciation  "in  the 
value  of  money  which  wi  1  be  sensibly  felt  in  the 
kingdom;  what,  then  is  to  be  the  effect  of  an  in¬ 
crease  of  fifty  mi  lions  of  phper  dollars,  in  two 
years,  in  this  country?  It  must  bd  what  every 
person  sees,  and  feels  it  to  be;  a  deprecation  of 
at  least  one  third  of  the  value  of  paper  money!  so 
that  every  person  living  on  salaries,  fixed  income, 
and  wages,  ?re  in  the  condition  <  f  having  suffered 
a  diminution  of  one- third  of  their  income.  Living 
is  becoming  as  dear  in  our  young  and  prolific 
America  as  in  the  aged  and  crowded  countries  of 
F.ui  ope.  I.et  no  one  delude  himself  with  the  belief 
that  there  is  no  depreciation  while  bank  notes  conti¬ 
nue  to  be  convertible  into  gold  and  silver  phis  would 
be  a  great  error;  for  it  is  of  the  very  nature  cl  de¬ 
preciating  paper  tb  carry  down  gold  and*  silver 
with  it,  untd  things  reach  that  point,  when  pru¬ 
dent  men  begin  to  exact  payments  in  hard  money, 
or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  to  carry  home  in  silver 
at  night  the  amount  of  every  note  received  during 
the  day.  When  things  have  reached  that  point,  and 
about. the  time  when  all  prudent  men  have  taken 
care  of  themselves,  the  public  mind  begins  to  get 
uneasy.  Some  cause,  no  nutter  whaty starts 
alarm;  and,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  explosion  is 
universal.  Such  was  the  point  to  which  we  were 
rapidly  tending  in  July  last.  PivsiTient  Jackson 
has  arrested  this  depreciation,  and  savi  d  the  coun¬ 
try  from  a  dire  calami  y.  His  Treasury  order 
has  saved  it.  It  has  stopped  the  issues  of  a  fiost 
of  banks,  and  boned  up  the  elements  oi  desolation  in 
their  own  caverns.  The  raging  winds  are  now  im¬ 
prisoned:  Boreas,  Eurus,  and  Ausier,  a  e  now  con¬ 
fined.  The  fabulous  conception  of  the  father  of  poets 
is  realized,  riot  upc  n  the  ocean  of  watt:  s,  but  upon 
the  ocean  of  paper  money.  The  elements  of  de¬ 
struction  are  tied  up;  and  wo  to  those  who,  imi¬ 
tating  the  rash  conduct  of  the  companions  of  Ulys¬ 
ses,  shall  untie  the  fated  bag,  and  turn  loose  tem¬ 
pests,  storms,  and  desolating  fury  upon  the  land. 

Mr.  B.  said  it  would  be  unjust,  after  saying  so 
much  of  the  expansion  of  the  paper  currency, 
and  the  over-issues  of  the  local  banks,  not  t  >  add, 
that  the  picture  was  not  intended  to  be  applicable 
to  the  whole  of  these  bank-;  that  he  knew  of 
many  honorable  exceptions,  an  1  there  might  be 
many  mm e  that  he  did  not  know  of.  Jf.s  means 
of  information  were  limited  to  tin  official  returns 
of  the  depodte  banks,  now  about  ninety  in  num¬ 
ber;  ar.d  while,  of  these,  he  anv  imny  whose  paper 
dollars  in  circulation,  to  say  nothing  of  their  d  po¬ 
shes,  were  five,  ten,  fif  een  to  one  for  their  specie 
doll  irs  in  their  vaults,  yet  there  were  oth>  i  s  where 
the  proport  on  was  the  other  wav.  The  Mer¬ 
chants’  Bank,  Boston,  h  ul  *2  54,000  specie,  and 
$256,090  in  c  rculatk-y  the  Ba>  k  of  A  meric «,  New 
York,  had  £1,490,000  in  specie,  and  $572,000 
•  otes  out;  the  Manhattan.  in  the  sanje  p  ace,  hail 
$690,000  sp  c  e,  and  $565,000  paper  uut;  the 
Planters  Bank,  Georgia,  had  £497,000  specie, 
$361,000  paper;  and  many  oth . r*>  wno«e  s  ties  but 
slightly  exceeded  their  specie  in  h  m  l.  It  was  due 
to  these  banks,  an  d  do«u  tl<  ss  to  many  mor*, 
jvhewe  returns  w-  re  not  accessible  to  h  hi,  to  ex¬ 
cept  them  from  the  censure  and  tie  complaint 
which  lies  against  loose  whose, unjustifiable  issues 


18 


tr 

< 


have  produced  the  expansion  an  1  depreciation  of 
currency  which  is  now  visible  to  all. 

Adverting-  to  President  Jackson’s  great  design 
of  increasing  the  specie  in  the  country,  Mr.  B. 
said,  there  was  an  indissoluble  connection  between 
the  state  of  the  specie  in  a  country,  and  its  pros¬ 
perity  or  distress.  They  were  cause  and  effect, 
and  rose  and  fell  together.  On  this  point  he  had 
a  table  to  produce  which  must  cany  conviction  to 
,  every  mind  which  was  open  to  the  influence  of 
facts  and  reasons.  It  was  a  table  which  covered 
the  most  disastrous,  and  the  most  prosperous  pe¬ 
riod  of  our  own  time;  and  which  required  but  the 
application  of  every  one’s  own  knowledge  of 
events  to  lead  to  just  and  inevitable  conclusions. 

Table  of  import  and  export  of  gold  and  silver  coin 
and  bullion,  from  1821  to  1836. 


Years. 


g  ."I  1821 

<U  (V)  I 

"  •  1822 
1823 


£ 

Ss  6  . 

>C  m  ^  V 

egg  r 

S£|  i 

<D  V- 

w  o 


J  1824 
~\  1825 
■i  '1826 
*  fiS27 


O  G 

~-§E 

1888 

_ .  ■*-» 

g  £  _,Y 

“3® 

pjs  y 

I 

J  1832 

• 

E  J  §  i 

W  W 

£<  CD  £4 

!*Sj  1836 


m 


1 829 

1 830 
'1881 


i  1833 
1  1834 
f  !  835 


Imported. 

Exported. 

$8,064,890 

$10,478,059 

3,369,846 

10,810.180 

5,097,896 

6,872,987 

8,379,885 

7,014,552 

6,150,765 

8  707,055 

6,880,960 

4,704,533 

8,151,130 

8,014,880 

7,489,741 

8,243,476 

7,403,612 

4,024,020 

8,155.964 

2,178,773 

7,305,945 

9,014,931 

5,907,504 

5,656,340 

7,070,368 

2,614,952 

17,911,632 

1,670.258 

13,131.447 

5,748,174 

12,166,372 

4,435,815 

Here  (said  Mr.  B.)  is  a  period  of  sixteen  years, 
divided  into  portions  of  four  years  each,  by  die  ad¬ 
ministrations  of  different  Presidents-  The  first 
showed  a  heavy  export  of  specie,  and  the  loss  of 
near  twelve  millions  of  dollars;  the  second,  a  loss 
of  about  a  million  and  a  half;  the  third,  a  gain  of 
about  six  millions;  the  fourth,  a  gain  of  near  forty 
mill  ions,  and  upw  rds  of  that  amount  when  the 
produce  ol  our  native  gold  mines  were  added. 
These  w  re  the  rcsnl  s;  and  without  embarrassing 
liis  remarks  with  complicated  details,  lie  would 
take  the  periods  of  strongest  contrast,  the  first  and 
the  last  f* n t*  years  of  the  sixteen.  Kvery  person 
would  re co  Let  the  period  of  1821,  ’2,  ’3,  ’4.  It 
was  the  season  of  bank  stoppages;  of  depreciated 
paper  money;  of  stop  laws,  relief  laws,  tender 
laws,  loan  laws,  property  laws — the  season  of  de¬ 
pressed  pdees  of  property  and  produce,  of 
ruin  to  debtors,  and  harvests  to  money  holders 
and  cautious  capitalists.  It  was  the  time  when 
a.  creditor  who  should  receive  from  his  debtor 
ten  dolla  s  in  Kentucky  paper  and  give  five 
silver  doll  -rs  in  change,  would  have  received 
nothing,  arid  the  debtor  would  have  paid  nothing. 
It  was  the  time  when  two  bills  for  the  same  article 
wasmade  out  in  the.  west;  one  for  silver,  and  one  for 
paper,  the  latter  being  the.  'ormer  multiplied  by 
two.  Now  look  to  the  la  >le  This  disastrous  sea- 
eon  w  l  be  seen  to  have  been  the  period  of  least 
importation,  and  greatest  exportation  of  specie. 
Search  the  ^memory,  and  it  will  inform  you  that 


the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  then  just  recover¬ 
ed  from  its  own  crisis  of  1819,  and  just  strong 
enough  to  do  mischief,  was  employed  in  evisce¬ 
rating  the  whole  interior  country  of  its  gold  and 
silver,  and  collecting  it  on  the  sea  board,  where  it 
was  exported  to  counti  ies  unafflicted  with  the  pes¬ 
tilence  of  paper  money.  Look  to  the  last  period, 
ihe  present  time;  and,  it  will  be  seen  that,  dating 
rom  that  era  which  should  become  national,  and 
eceive  perennial  honors  in  anniversary  celebra¬ 
tions — the  most  glorious  era  of  the  removal  of  the  / 
deposites! — dating  from  that  era,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  we  have  gained  near  forty  millions 
of  specie  by  importations,  and  that  the  gain 
exceeds  forty  millions  when  the  domestic 
supplies  are  added.  The  present  period, 
then,  is  the  season  of  the  greatest  increase  of 
specie  ever  known;  and  such  also  is  the  national 
prosperity.  Never  before  did  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  equal  the  present  time;  never  was 
there  such  exuberance  of  prosperity;  and  that, 
after  making  due  allowance  for  what  is  fictitious, 
from  the  excess  of  paper,  and  the  effect  of  a  de- 
prt  ciatecl  cum  ncy.  This  excess  and  deprecia¬ 
tion  would  be  fatal,  were  it  not  for  the  seventy- 
five  millions  of  specie  in  the  country.  But  these 
three  score  and  fifteen  millions  are  the  safety  of 
the  land.  They  roaks  the  people  independent  of 
the  banks;  they  make  them  independent  of  panics; 
they  prepare  them  for  the  present  panic,  this 
starveling  concern,  now  in  a  course  of  prepara¬ 
tion  by  the  authors  of  the  old  one-  Thanks  to  the 
wisdom,  the  foresight,  the  energy  of  President  Jack- 
son:  he  has  prepared  the  country  for  this  second 
panic;  he  has  for  ified  it,  and  armed  it  for  the  contest. 
Seventy-five  millions  of  specie  puts  p  per  at  de¬ 
fiance,  and  enables  the  country  to  stand  tli3  shock 
of  the  encounter.  No  longer  can  banks  set  them¬ 
selves  up  above  law,  and  above  Government.  No 
longer  can  they'  stop  payment,  and  force  their  dis¬ 
honored  paper  upon  the  country.  The  bank  that 
would  now'  attempt  it  would  instantly  be  put  to 
the  test  of  insolvency,  and  subjected  to  the  laws 
of  the  land  as  w'ell  as  to  the  law  of  public  opinion. 

Her  dishonored  paper  would  be  driven  in  upon 
her,  and  the  last  hard  dollar  extracted  from  her 
vaults.  These  being  the  fruits  of  President  Jack¬ 
son’s  great  measures  for  restoring  a  specie  cur¬ 
rency,  who  can  justify  the  opposite  course  which 
is  now  proposed;  a  course  by  which  specie  is  to 
be  dispensc  d  with  by  the  Federal  Government, 
paper  to  take  its  place,  specie  again  to  become  an 
article  of  merchandise  for  exportation  to  foreign 
countries;  and  the  disastrous  scenes  of  1821, 

’2,  ’3,  ’4,  again  realized.  The  crisis  had  approached 
in  July;  paper  was  pouring  into  the  Treasury; 
specie  was  departing  for  foreign  climes;  President 
Jackson  checked  the  inundation  of  piper,  and  he 
compelled  the  departing  specie  to  countermarch; 
to  face  wvst  instead  of  east;  to  our  land  offices 
instead  of  foreign  ports;  and  in  doing  this,  he  has 
benefited  his  country,  and  drawn  upon  himself 
the  denunciation  of  those  who  now  attack  him. 

Mr.  B  wmuld  conclude  his  observations  on  this 
part  of  the  subject,  with  calling  the  attention  of 
the  Senate  to  the  public  imputation  of  wicked  mo¬ 
tives,  attributed  to  President  Jackson,  in  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  speech  and  Philadelphia  letter,  from  which  f 


19 


•extracts  had  been  read.  Christian  charity  for¬ 
bids,  and  gentlemanly  breeding  avoids,  the  gra¬ 
tuitous  imputation  of  malignant  motives.  There 
are  cases  in  which  delicacy  recoils  from  a  public 
and  insulting  reference  from  one  man  to  another. 
But  where  was  Christian  charity,  gentlemanly  breed¬ 
ing,  or  delicacy  of  feeling,  when  such  wordsas  these 
were  used  in  reference  to  President  Jackson?  “/ 
hove  lift  If  ilmbt  that  the  specie  order  was  the  RE- 
VE NTrE  of  the  President  upon  CONGRESS  for 
,  passim*  the  DISTRIBUTION  LAW."  Here,  said 
Mr.  B  is  not  only  a  personal  outrage  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  but  an  at;  erupt  to  excite  the  resentment  of 
Congress  against  him,  and  to  mark  him  for  the  ven¬ 
geance  of  all  who  are  disposed  io  pervert  the  depo- 
site  act  into  a  distribution  law;  and  all  this,  too,  upon 
the  gratuitous  imputation  of  a  wicked  motive  for  a 
measure,  just,  wise,  legal,  ami  indispensably 
necessary  within  itself!  Motives,  continued  Mr. 
B.  are  within  the  cognizance  of  the  Searcher  of  all 
Hearts.  He  can  see  them  as  they  are;  the  mor¬ 
tal  eye  may  mistake  them.  It  is  good,  then,  for 
frail  humanity  to  be  slow  in  charging  a  bad  mo- 
i  live  for  even  a  questionable  action:  he  had,  there¬ 
fore,  refrained  from  all  reference  to  motives  for 
the  design  of  those  coincident  and  twin  produc¬ 
tions  from  which  he  had  made  quotations,  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  speech  and  the  Philadelphia  letter!  He 
had  not  said  that  they  were  the  revenge  of  disap¬ 
pointed  ambition,  for  a  lost  Presidential  chair,  nor 
of  disappointed  avarice  for  a  lost  national  bank 
charter.  He  had  not  even  intimated  that  the 
marble  palace  in  Chestnut  street,  and  th^  shady 
groves  of  Ashl.nd,  might  be  conscious  to  the 
embraces  from  which  this  rescinding  resolution 
has  sprung;  or,  that  the  imperative  requisition 
upon  this  Congress  to  command  the  instant  re¬ 
peal  of  the  Treasury  order,  was  founded  in  any 
scheme  to  obtain,  from  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  a  triumph  over  that  MAN  to  whom  the 
people  themselves  have  granted  so  many  tri¬ 
umphs  over  the  same  pursuers.  For  himself 
he  had  omitted  ail  such  intimations;  and  should 
drop  all  further  notice  of  them  now.  Leaving 
then  toe  actors  and  accessories  to  this  proceeding, 
its  origin  and  their  motives,  to  the  phasis  under 
which  they  themselves  h  ive  exhibited  it,  lie  should 
join  President  Jackson  in  the  confident  belief  ex¬ 
pressed  by  him  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of 
that  part  of  his  message  which  relates  to  the  issu¬ 
ance  of  the  Treasury  order,  “ That  his  country 
would  find,  in  the  MOTIVES  which  had  induced  it, 
and  in  the  H  \PPY  consequences  which  have  ensued, 
much  to  commend,  and  nothing  to  condemn.” 

Mr.  BENTON  said,  he  had  stated  in  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  his  speech  that  tw  o  great  objects 
were  to  be  accomplished  by  this  rescinding  reso¬ 
lution;  first,  the  condemnation  of  President  Jack- 
son  fora  violation  of  the  laws  and  constitution,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  public  prosperity;  and,  se¬ 
condly,  the  overthrow  of  the  constitutional  cur¬ 
rency,  and  the  imposition  of  the  paper  money  of 
all  the  State  Governments  upon  the  Federal  Go¬ 
vernment.  He  had  spoken  to  the  first  of  these 
objects,  and,  as  he  hoped,  successfully  vindicated 
the  President  from  all  the  charges  on  which  it 
^rested;  the  second  object  was  now  to  be  attended 
o,  and  would  be  discussed  with  all  the  brt  vity 


and  despatch  which  the  magnitude  of  the  subject 
permitted. 

This  design  (said  Mr.  B.)  to  overthrow  the  hard 
money  system  of  the  constitution,  and  to  enthrone 
the  paper  money  system  in  its  place,  is  as  oil  as 
the  constitution  itself;  and  has  been  the  leading 
policy  of  a  great  political  party',  from  tne  founda¬ 
tion  of  that  party,  near  fifty  years  ago,  and  under 
all  its  mutations  of  name,  down  to  the  present 
hour.  Gold  and  silver,  though  not  without  a 
struggle  fora  national  bank  and  a  national  paper 
currency,  were  made  the  currency  of  the  Federal 
Government  by  the  convention  which  created  this 
Government.  So  fixed  and  j  a;ous  was  the  mind 
of  the  convention  on  this  point,  that  even  the 
power  of  coining  gold  and  silver,  which  had  been 
left  to  the  States,  under  the  articles  of  the  confe¬ 
deration,  was  taken  aw  ay  from  them  by  tire  new 
constitution.  The  members  of  that  great  conven¬ 
tion  were  not  only  feed  upon  having  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver  for  the  currency  of  the  new  Government,  but 
also  determined  upon  its  uniformity,  so  that  the 
same  piece  should  be  the  same  thing,  in  form, 
name,  device,  and  value,  throughout  the 
Union.  Tire  exclusion  of  paper  money  was  as 
carefully  enforced  by  the  constitution  as  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  gold  and  silver  was  sedulously  gua  ded. 
The  words  of  the  constitution  and  the  history  of 
the  times,  and  especially  the  44  h  No.  of  the 
Federalist,  written  by  Mr.  IVadison,  all  prove  this. 
Tlie  early  legislation  of  Congress  conformed  to 
the  words  and  spirit  of  the  constitution,  and 
adopted  the  plainest  and  strongest  language  to 
guard  the  currency  w  hich  it  had  adopted.  The 
two  acts,  fundamental  for  the  collection  of  the 
two  great  branches  of  the  revenue — lands  and 
customs:  that  of  1789  for  the  latter,  and  1800  for 
the  former,  were  express  that  gold  and  silver 
coin  only  should  be  received  for  the  customs,  and 
specie  and  evidence  s  of  the  public  debt  only,  for 
the  public  lands.  These  two  great  acts,  being 
faithful  interpreters  of  the  constitution,  have  never 
been  openly  attacked  in  either  House  of  Congress. 
In  all  the  changes  which  subsequent  legislation 
has  made  in  the  laws,  of  which  lire  hard  money 
enactments  are  part,  these  clauses  have  been  re¬ 
tained  in  the  same,  or  equivalent  expressions;  so 
that  a  hard  money  currency  still  remains  the  con¬ 
stitutional  and  tire  statutory  cuirehcyof  the  Fed¬ 
eral  Government.  Temporary  enactments  in  la- 
vor  of  Treasury  notes,  and  United  States  Bank 
note?,  have  ceased;  and  the  joint  resolution  of  1816 
neither  does,  nor  can,  repeal  a  law.  Resolutions, 
whether  j oint  or  several,  are  not  the  mode  of  nat ion- 
al  legislation.  They  are  only  declaratory  of  fids  or 
principles,  or  expressive  of  the  opinions  and  pur¬ 
poses  of  the  House  or  Houses,  from  which  they  t  raa- 
nate.  Thejoint  resolution  differs  from  the  single  in 
nothing  but  in  being  the  declaration,  the  opinion,  or 
the  purpose  of  both  Houses,  instead  of  one.  T  his 
being  the  case,  and  the  two  fundamental  enact¬ 
ments  of  1789  and  1800  being  still  in  force,  ax 
retained  in  subsequent  alterations  of  the  laws  to 
which  they  belong,  the  question  is,  how  comes  it  that 
they  have  been  treated  as  dead  letters  on  the  sta  ute 
book,  and  paper  money  received  in  place  of  the 
hard  money  which  they'  imperatively  require? 
The  answer  to  this  question  (said  Mr.  B  )  carrh# 


20 


hs  t>p  to  the  time  of  General  Hamilton,  to  the  first  j 
year  of  his  admin  strahon  of  the  Treasury  Depart- ! 
inent,  and  to  1  lie  foundation  of  the  political  school 
of  which  he  was  the  hea  l.  As  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  it  became  his  duty  to  carry  into  effect 
Usenet  of  1789,  for  the  collection  of  the  custom 
house  duties  in  gold  and  s  l  et*  co  n  only.  Instead 
of  earning1  the  law  into  effect,  he  nullified  it  by 
construction.  He-intetpret<  d  “gold  and  silver  coin 
only,”  to  be  the  notes  of  sp*  cie-paying  banks;  and 
a  depcsite  of  bank  notes,  as  cash,  to  he  a  deposit? 
oS  spec?.  This  was  his  construction,  ana  the 
order  which  he  issued  to  the  collectors  of  the  re- 
-wcmie  corresponded  w  ith  it.  At  the  ensuing  sea¬ 
son  cl*  Congress  he  just  fi.  (1  this  construction  in 
an  argumentative  report;  and  a  few  extracts  from 
this  report  will  show  how  the  plain  meaning  of  a 
law  can  be  turned  upside  down  bjf  construction, 
and  wilt  reveal  the  source  of  the  first  imposition  of 
paper  money  upon  the  Federal  Government,  and 
the  seasons  for  that  imposition. 

“Tills  section  [30th  of  the  revenue  act  of  1789]  provides  for 
the  receipt  ot  the 'duties  in  gold  an  1  silver  coin  only.  The 
Secretary  has  considered  this  provision  as  having  for  its  object 
the  exclusion  of  payments  in  tite  paper  emissions'of  the  [-arti¬ 
cular  States,  and  the  securing  the  immediate  or  ultimate  col¬ 
lection  of  the  duties  in  specie,  as  intended  to  prohibit  to  mmvi- 
d'juaip  the  right  of  paying  in  any  thing  except  gold  or  silver  j 
coin;  hut  not  to  hinder  the  Treasury  from  making  such  arrange-  1 
«n-nts  as  its  exigencies,  the  speedy  command  ot  the  public  re-  j 
sources,  and  the  convenience  of  the  community,  might  dictate;  [ 
these  arrangements  being  compatible  with  the  eventual  receipt  i 
ofthe  duties  in  specie.  *  *  *  Such  were,  the  reflections  ; 

of  the  Secretary  with  regard  to  the  authority  to  permit  bank- 1 
notes  to  bo  taken  in  payment  of  the  duties.  The  expediency  of  j 
doing  it  appeared  to  him  to  he  still  less  questionable.  The  ex-  | 
tension  of  their  circulation  by  the  measure,  is  calculated  to  in-  ! 
crease  both  the  ability  and  inclination  of  the  hanks  to  aid  tite  j 
Government.  *  *  *  Banknotes  being  a  convenient  spe-  i 

cies  of  money,  whatever  increases  their  circulation  increases  | 
-the  quantity  of  current  money.  *  *  *  But,  convinced 

as  the  Secretary  is  of  the  usefulness  of  the  regulation,  yet,  con¬ 
sidering  the  nature  of  the  clause  upon  which  these  remarks 
arise,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  bring  the  subject  under  the  eve 
of  the  II  ouse.  The  measure  is  understood  by  all  concerned,  to 
fee  temporary.  Indeed,  whenever  a  national  bank  shall  lie  ia- 
etitu’ed.  some  new  disposition  of  the  thing  will  be  a  matter  of 
worse.” 

Such  was  the  argument  and  Mich  the  object 
Tor  departing  from  the  act  of  1789,  and  from  the 
constitution,  of  which  i*  was  the  faithful  exposi¬ 
tor.  T  he  effect  vv;  s  the  gradual  and  general  dif¬ 
fusion  of  a  paper  currency  over  the  country,  and 
si  c«rr< -ponding  general  and  gradual  disappearance 
and  banishment  of  gold  and  silver;  so  that  when 
the  first  national  bank  chartc  r  expired,  in  1811, 
the  Federal  Government  was  left  without  u  na¬ 
tional  currency,  having  neither  United  States 
Bank  notes  nor  gold,  and  but  little  silver  in  the 
country.  Mr.  Madison’s  administration  was  then 
driven  to  the  deplorable  necessity  of  using  State- 
hank  paper  for  a  national  currency;  and  the  result 
is  too  well  known  in  the  ten  years’  convulsions  of  j 
the  paper  system  which  ensued.  Tite  effect  of  j 
the  whole  was  the  speedy  respj  t  to  another  ration¬ 
al  bank-  This  bank  came  to  its  conclusion  under 
the  administration  of  President  Jackson;  and  he, 
Avoiding  the  error  into  which  President  Madison’s 
administration  had  fallen  in  1811,  resolved  to  re-es¬ 
tablish  the  constitutional  currency,  and  especially 
to  revive  the  circulation  of  gold,  which  had  ceased 
for  move  than  twenty  years.  The  success  of  this 
great  plan  was  truly  flattering.  1  he  gold  curre-n 
«y,  in  three  years,  had  risen  from  nothing  to  about 
fif  teen  millions  of  dollars;  and  the  silver  currency 


'  C 

had  increased  in  the  same  brief  space  from  less 
than  thirty  m  llions  to  about  sixty  millions,  and 
both  against  the  determined  opposition  of  a  pow¬ 
erful  politic  il  and  money  ed  parly.  The  success  of 
the  experiment  was  established;  and  it  was  clear 
that  tlie  party  opposed  to  gold  and  silver 
could  no  longer  ellect  any  thing  by  direct 
opposition  A  new  mode  of  making  head  against 
it  was  then  fallen  upon;  and  that  new  mode 
was  to  expand  the  paper  system  until  it  burst- 
ed,  and  thus  to  ruin  the  paity  in  power  by 
ruining  the  finances  and  the  currency.  The  gene*  * 
rid  receivabihty  of  local  paper  for  public  lands, 
made  it  easy  to  inundate  the  Treasury,  through 
the  land  offices,  with  local  bank  paper ;  and  the 
spirit  of  speculation  co-operating  with  this  politi¬ 
cal  design,  turned  an  immense  flood  of  p*per  up¬ 
on  the  national  domain.  It  was  ea>y  to  see  that 
this  mass  of  paper,  though  credited  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment  on  the  books  of  the  de  posit  e  banks  as  specie  , 
was  not -cash,  but  only  promises  to  pay  cash;  and 
that,  in  fact,  it  was  destined  to  become  a  new  and 
second  accumulation  of  unavailable  funds.  A 
crisis  in  the  federal  finances  was  evidently  ap¬ 
proaching;  and  there  was  every  reason  to  believe 
— the  floors  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  daily 
attested  die  fact — that  swarms  of  speculators, 
loaded  with  paper  money,  were  to  alight  upon  the 
public  lands  immediately  ofser  ihe  iise  of  Con¬ 
gress.  It  was  probable  that  many  tens  of  million* 
of  paper  would  thus  have  been  converted  into 
land.,  and  that  the  banks  which  issued  it,  being 
un&bie  to  redeem  it,  and  the  deposite  banks  which 
bad  improvidently  credited  it  as  ca.lt>  being  unable 
to  cosh  it,  ihe  whole  would  have  sunk  upon  the 
hands  of  die  Federal  Government.  I  he  evil  of 
such  a  state  of  things  is  too  obvious  to  be  depicted. 
Not  only  the  Federal  Government  would  have  lost 
its  land,  and  lost  its  revenues,  but  tite  a  hole  com¬ 
munity  would  have  suffer*  cl.  Hut  here  urn  energy 
and  foresight  of  President  Jackson  was  again  vic¬ 
torious  over  the  designs  of  emmies  and  the  im¬ 
prudence  of  friends.  He  determined  to  arrest, the 
floods  of  paper  which  were  ready  to  inundate  the 
'Treasury.  The  specie  order  was  issued,  and  the 
country  was  saved.  The  wrath  which  the  miscar 
r  :  ge  of  so  many  fine  schemes  occasioned,  burst 
forth  upon  the  President’s  head;  the  speculator 
for  the  loss  of  his  myriad  of  acres;  the  politician 
for  the  escape  of  the  Government  from  the  dan¬ 
ger  that  m  -  naced  it;  the  local  banks  for  the 
loss  of  the  national  domain  to  bank  upon;  and 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  for  thr.  loss  of 
its  anticipated  opportunity  of  proving  that  a  na¬ 
tional  bank  was  ind  spensable  to  the  safe  collec¬ 
tion  of  the  federal  revenues.  To  make  distress  in 
the  country,  and  charge  it  upon  the  Treasury  or¬ 
der,  was  now  the  resort  of  all  the  disappointed 
parties.  The  Kentucky  speech,1  and  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  letter,  were  the  signal  guns  for  a  new  panic; 
and  the  old  drama  of  1833  was  immediately  put 
in  rehearsal  for  performance  on  the  Washington 
boards  as  soon  as  Congress  met.  In  every  re¬ 
spect  this  second  panic  was  a  servile  copy  of  the 
former;  the  same  plot,  the  same  scenes,  tire  same 
incidents,  the  same  performers.  No  fertility  of  in¬ 
vention  characterized  any  part  of  it;  no  touch  of 
genius  enlivened  the  dull  capy  with  the  noveltj^ 


21 


even  of  a  single  new  conception,  or  new  phrase. 
Hero  we  have  it  now,  more  hke  a  starved  wolf  at 
the  door,  than  a  roaring  lion;  and  lending  i ts 
feeble  aid  to  the  cause  of  this  rescinding  resolution. 
That  resolution  is  to  open  the  doors  of  the  Trea¬ 
sury  again  to  the  inundation  of  paper  money, 
that  the  catastrophe  averted  1  ust  summer,  may  be 
produced  next  spring;  and  the  question  now  is, 
shall  (  o!  gress  give  up  the  public  lands  to  spoil, 
and  the  public  Treasury  to  unconvertible  paper, 
after  President  Jackson  has  saved  the  country 
from  both  evils?  I  his  is  the  point  we  are  now 
at;  and  if  any  one  wishes  proof  of  the  design  to 
overthrow  the  constitutional  currency  and  to  im- 
pose  paper  money  upon  the  Government,  let  him 
look  at  the  universality  of  the  abuse  now  lavished 
upon  gold  and  silver,  and  the  applause  bestowed 
upon  paper  money  by  all  that. great  party  now 
palpably  discriminated  by  the  distinctive  features 
of  the  Hamiltonian  school.  Here  is  a  specimen,  ta- 
taken  from  the  Philadelphia  letter,  the  force  and 
beauty  of  which  vvi'l  be  fully  comprehended  by  the 
boatmen  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

“  But  this  miserable  foolery  about  an  exclusive  metallic 
currency  is  quite  as  absurd  as  to  discard  the  steamboats,  and 
go  buck  to  poling  up  ike  Mississippi .” 

This  is  the  manner  in  which  this  great  party 
speak  of  the  currency  of  the  constitution.  “  Mise¬ 
rable  foolery,” — as  much  behind  paper  money  as 
a  keel  is.  behind  a  steamboat.  lint  why  lose  time 
to  prove  their  hatred  of  gold,  and  their  adoration 
of  paper >  They  would  be  ashamed  to  have  it 
thought  otherwise.  They  l  ike  care  that  nobody 
shad  think  otherwise  by  their  ostentatious  abuse, 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  of  the  gold  currency; 
and  by  their  ostentatious  praise,  without  rhyme 
or  reason,  of  paper  money.  It  is  inco  itestible, 
then,  that  the  imposition  ol  the  paper  system  upon 
the  Federal  Government,  is  the  second  great  ob¬ 
ject  of  this  re  solution;  and  that  for  the  avowed  rea¬ 
sons  mentioned  by  Gen.  Hamilton  in  liis  argument 
of  1790,  in  favor  of  substituting  paper  for  gold  and 
.silver. 

Mr.  B-  envied  not  the  vocation  of  any  man,  or 
of  any  party,  who  employed  themselves  in  the 
habitual  vituperation  of  any  part  of  the  constitution 
of  the  country;  and  especially  that  part  of  it  which 
was  considered  b]  its  frame  rs  as  among  the  must 
important  and  valuable.  Gobi  and  silver  is  the 
currency  of  the  constitution.  Those  who  attack 
that  currency,  attack  the  constitution,  and  that  in 
one  of  its  most  valuable  parts,  and  the  very  part 
which  most  universally  concerns  the  people.  Ev¬ 
ery  citizen  is  concerned  in  tire  currency;  and  to 
attack  that  money  which  the  constitution  guaran¬ 
ties,  is  to  attack  at  once,  his  rights  and  the  sacred 
instrument  by  which  he  holds  it.  Mr.  B.  had 
shown  the  origin  of  this  war  of  paper  against  gold; 
he  had  shown  it  to  tie  at  the  origin  of  the  great 
political  parties  which,  under  whatsoever  names, 
have  existed  for  near  fifty  years  in  this  countrv; 
and  it  was  perfectly  clear  that,  from  the  time  of 
General  Hamilton  to  the  present  day,  a  prefeience 
of  paper  to  gold  and  silver  has  been  (he  distinctive 
tenet  of  one  party,  and  con  dilutes  the  essential  and 
radical  distinction  between  the  two. 

Mr.  B.  said,  it  was  incontestible  that  every  na¬ 
tion  must  have  a  national  currency.  It  must  have 


such  a  currency  not  o .sly  in  name,  hut  in  fact;  and. 
nothing  can  answer  fora  national  currency  but  that 
which  combines  two  properties;J^rs/,  uniformity  tf 
value  all  over  the  country:  secondly,  convenient 
portability.  Silver  possesses  one  tit  these  quali¬ 
ties,  but  it  lacks  the  other;  gold  possesses  both;, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  guaran¬ 
ties  its  use.  Gold  is  then  the  constitutional  na¬ 
tional  currency  of  the  United  States;  and  Mr.  B. 
held  all  attempts  to  substitute  paper  in  its  place  to 
be  unconstitutional,  and  pernicious.  Two  national, 
banks  had  been  chartered  to  furnish  a  national  pa¬ 
per  currency;  they  have  both  been  put  dow  u,  after 
twenty  years  trial  of  each,  by  the  power  of  the  peo¬ 
ple.  When  the  first  was  put  down,  a  fatal  error  er¬ 
ror  was  committed  by  those  who  did  it  in  not  iv stor¬ 
ing  gold;  and  that  error  was  doubled  by  lulling 
back  upon  local  State  paper,  and  adoplin  ;  it  for 
the  currency  of  the  Federal  Government.  Pro¬ 
fiting  by  that  great  error,  those,  who  put  down  the 
second  national  bank,  made  it  a  part  of  their  pl*n» 
and  the  part  upon  the  success  ot  which  every 
thing  was  to  depend,  that  gold,  and  not  local 
bank  paper,  should  become  toe  national  currency 
of  the  Union.  This  was  .the  plan;  and  in  pur¬ 
suance  of  it,  many  steps  have  been  taken  towards 
excluding  local  bank  paper  from  the  receipts  and 
expenditures  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  in¬ 
troducing  gold  in  its  place.  The  largest  and  most 
essential  of  these  steps  was  the  Treasury  order  of 
July  last;  and  now,  the  present  movement  for  the 
rescission  of  that  order,  and  for  the  continuation 
ol  local  paper  in  the  receipts,  and  conseque  ntly  in 
the  expenditures,  of  tiie  Federal  Government, 
brings  up  the  question,  whether  gold,  or  local 
paper,  is  to  be  made  the  national  currency,  it 
brings  up  the  question;  for,  what  Urn  Government 
receives  as  cash,  it  must  pay  out  as  cash;  and, 
what  the  Government  thus  receives  arid  pays  out, 
become*  the  currency  of  the  country  also;  for  peo¬ 
ple  single-handed  cannot  make  head  against  the 
action  of  the  Government.  Tue  effect  of  the  pre¬ 
sent  movement,  then,  is,  to  overturn  the  plan  of 
those  who  put  down  the  Batik  cf  the  United 
States  and  to  =uhstbute  for  the  national  gold  cur¬ 
rency,  which  they  promised  the  country,  the  ac¬ 
tual  paper  currencies  of  all  the  .  States  and  1  erri- 
tories  of  the  Union.  This  is  the  effect  of  the 
movement;  and  the  question  now  is,  wi  1  the  Se¬ 
nate  put  down  gold?  for  gold  can  never  live  in 
such  company,  and  adopt  all  these  currencies? 
Passing  by  the  constitutional  objection,  as  too  ob¬ 
vious  to  need  -enforcement,  and  too  o'ten  invoked 
without  effect,  Mr.  B.  would  endeavor  to  address 
himself  practicably  to  the  sense  of  the  Senate,  by 
showing  them  the  mass  of  the  evil  which  it  was 
proposed  to  assume  Here  it  is,  said  he,  (bolding 
up  a  copy  of Bicknell’s  Counterfeit  Detector.)  Here 
it  iv;  a  little  volume  of  32  pages,  the  first  six  con¬ 
taining  twelve  columns  of  the  names  ot  banks, 
alphabetical’}'  arranged  by  States  and  Territories, 
(Missouri  and  Arkansas  the  only  names  not  in  the 
list,)  and  each  column  containing  about  eighty 
names.  The  remaining  twenty-six  pages  are  fiHed! 
with  the  description  of  the  illegitimate  progeny 
of  these  banks;  that  is  to  say,  witn  a  frightful  and 
sickening  exhibition  of  forgeries.  Here  then  is 
near  one  thousand  banks — piob.bly  upwards  of  a 


thousand  by  this  time — whose  promissory  notes 
are  to  be  put  on  an  equd  footing  with  gold  and  silver 
at  the  land  offices,  custom-houses,  and  post  offices 
ol'the  United  States;  and  which,  being  on  an  equal 
footing,  will  soon  hav«-  the  upper  hand,  and  have  all 
the  custom-houses,  land  offices,  and  post  offices  to 
themselves;  for  gold  and  silver  will  never  go 
where  they  go,  and  will  never  abide  where  they 
sojourn. 

We  are  called  upon  (said  Mr.  B.)  to  adopt  this 
wilderness  of  banks  as  furnishers  of  currency  to  the 
Federal  Government;  to  accept  their  paper  pro¬ 
mises  to  pay  gold  and  silver,  in  lieu  of  gold  and 
silver;  and  thus  to  make  them  the  coiners,  not  of 
money,  but  of  paper  for  the  Federal  Government; 
and  to  enable  them  to  supersede  the  constitutional 
coinage  of  the  United  States.  He  did  not  enter 
into  the  question  how  far  the  States,  each  for  itself, 
might  authorize  paper  currency;  that  is  not  the 
question  new,  but  whether  the  Federal  Govern¬ 
ment  shall  adopt  as  its  own,  all  the  paper  cur- 
rences  of  all  the  States  and  Territories?  This  is 
what  we  are  called  upon  to  do;  and  by 
whom?  Certainly  there  may  be  some  very 
disinterested  and  very  patriotic  men  so  cal¬ 
ling;  but,  more  certainly,  there  are  four  deep¬ 
ly  interested  classes  so  cal  i r g,  and  visibly  seen 
at  the  head  of  the  movement.  These  classes 
were,  1.  The  speculators,  who  want  bank  loans 
and  bank  facilities  to  enable  them  to  out-bid  the 
settlers,  and  to  monopolize  the  choicest  lands?  2 
The  local  banks,  who  want  the  national  domain 
as  a  cipital  to  bank  upon,  and  to  give  credit  and 
circulation  to  their  notes  in  all  the  new  States? 
3  Politicians  out  of  power,  who  foresee,  in  the 
reception  of  this  local  paper,  the  ruin  of  the 
finance?;  and  in  that  ruin,  foresee,  also,  the  down¬ 
fall  of  those  now  in  power,  and  the  elevation  of 
themselves;  4  The  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
which  foresees  likewise,  in  the  same  ruin,  its  own 
resuscitation;  and  which,  pending  that  event,  has 
gone  into  abeyance  under  a  State  charter,  to  be 
ready  for  the  occasion.  These  were  the  classes 
whose  clamors  against  the  Treasury  order  had 
stunned  the  public  ear;  these  were  the  classes 
who  denounced  the  President;  these  the  daises  who 
demand  the  instant  rescisiori  of  that  order.  .As 
one  of  those  who  had  contributed  to  put  down  the 
Bank  of  the  United  Stages,  and  who  had  promised 
a  restoration  of  the  gold  currency,  Mr.  B.  must  be 
permitted  to  make  head  against  this  movement, 
which  goes  to  re-establish  that  bank,  and  to  sup¬ 
press  that  golden  currency. 

Having  Hated  the  number  of  the  banks  in  the 
United  States,  he  would  say  a  word  as  to  theirre- 
puted  capitals  and  circulation.  The  chartered  ca¬ 
pital  was  computed  at  near  one  thousand  millions 
o!  dollars;  the  paid  up  capital  was  stated  at  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions;  the  chartered 
right  to  issue  paper  money,  exceeded  one  thou¬ 
sand  millions;  and  the  s?ctud  circulation  was  com¬ 
puted  at  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions.  Now 
all  the  specie  in  the  country  is  computed  at  seven- ; 
ty-five  millions,  and  all  in  the  banks  at  forty-five 
millions;  so  that  the  reputed  paid-up  capital  is 
four  times  greater  than  all  the  specie  in  the  country, 
and  seven,  times  greater  than  all  the  specie  the  j 
tanks  possess.  Mr.  B.  did  not  pretend  that  the  banks  ' 


should  always  have  all  their  capital  in  their  hands;, 
but  he  did  insist  that  it  must  be  in  the  country!  so 
that,  when  needed,  it  could  be  had.  The  reputed 
paid-up  capital  is  not  in  the  country,  by  a  differ¬ 
ence  of  four  to  one;  so  that  the  fact  stands  re- 
vc.-iled  that  a  great  proportion  of  these  banks  are 
banking  on  slock  notes,  and  on  each  other’s  notes? 
and  the  stockholders  not  b  ing  liable,  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  a  gre  >t  number  of  these  banks  must  be 
unsolid  and  delusive?  entirely  unsafe  f  r  the  com¬ 
munity  to  rely  upon;  and  that  it  would  be  a  cruel 
thing  for  the  Federal  Government, 'by  increasing 
their  cn  dit,  to  extend  the  sphere  of  their  circula¬ 
tion,  and  to  enlarge  the  vormx  of  their  mischief 
when  the  day  comes  to  which  allj  unsolid  banks 
are  daily  liable. 

Mr.  B.  sad  that  we  had  borrowed  the  paper 
system  from  England,  and  from  the  Adam  Smith 
school,  whose  work  on  political  economy  had  ap¬ 
peared  about  the  close  of  the  Arne:  scan  revolution, 
and  created  that  passion  for  banking  which  lias 
since  prevailed  in  Great  Britain  and  our  America. 
Me  would  show  that  the  English  representatives 
of  that  school  are  now  convinced  of  their  error, 
and  are  endeavoring  to  extricate  the  country  from 
a>l  banks  of  issue  except  that  of  th  Bank  of  Eng¬ 
land,  for  the  solvency  of  which  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain  stands  security  to  the  whole  amount 
of  its  capital.  Repeating  that  we  had  borrowed 
the  paper  system  from  Great  Britain,  Mr.  B.  had 
two  remarks  to  make  upon  i  ;  first,  that  banking 
with  us  was  on  a  far  more  unsafe  foot  ing-  than  in 
Great  Britain;  secondly,  that  bar-iks  of  issue  were 
found  to  be  too  unsafe  to  be  longer  tolerated  there. 
He  proceeded  to  show  the  foundations  on  which 
he  made  these  assertions;  and  afterwards  to 
make  a  practical  application  of  his  remarks  to  the 
question  before  the  Senate. 

First,  that  banking  in  the  United  States  was  on 
a  more  unsafe  footing  than  in  Great  Britain.  There 
was  a  fundamental  difference  (he  said)  between 
classes  of  banks.  In  Great  Britain  there  were 
two  classes;  one  of  discount,  deposite,  and  ex¬ 
change;  another,  of  circulation.  This  latter  cliss 
was  the  only  one  existing  in  the  United  States, 
and  it  was  from  it  that  ALL  the  public  ev  Is  of 
banking  flowed.  Here,  then,  was  a  radical  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  systems  of  banking  in  the  two 
countries;  the  British  system  having  the  two  spe¬ 
cies  of  banks,  and  the  American  system  having  but 
one,  and  that  the  dangerous  one  Confining  his 
emarks,  then,  to  the  class  common  to  the  two 
countries,  (banks  of  issue,)  he  would  show  that  this 
class  is  on  a  far  more  unsafe  footing  in  the  United 
States  than  in  Great  Britain.  The  Bank  of 
England  (he  said)  was  backed  by  the 

the  Government  of  Great  Britain  for  its 
debts  and  capital.  The  notes  of  the  institution 
were  a  legal  tender  to  the  Government;  and  in  a 
Government  whose  annual  taxes  are  two  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  the  legal  receivabifty 
of  notes  to  this  amount  is  a  fund  for  the  redemp¬ 
tion  of  more  notes  than  the  Bank  of  England  ever 
had  in  circulation.  Her  highest  issue,  during  the 
suspension  of  specie  payments  and  issue  of  one  and 
two-pound  notes  was  twenty  nine  millions  and  a 
half  pounds  sterling,  say  $146,000,000.  .  Her  issues  | 
since  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  sup- 


pression  of  one  and  two-pound  notes,  has  in  a 
period  of  six  jears,  anterior  to  1832,  ranged  from 
18  to  23,000,000  sterling*,  being*  about  100,- 
000,000  of  dollars.  The  taxes  to  the  Go¬ 
vernment,  then  would  absorb  them,  though  at  a 
loss  to  all  holders  who  did  not  owe  to  the  Govern 
ment  the  amount  of  what  they  held.  This  was 
some  security  for  the  notes  of  ihe  bank;  but 
there  was  another,  and  a  greater  security, 
.  and  this  lay  in  the  direct  responsibility  of 
the  Government  for  the  whole  amount  of  the 
rapital  of  the  bank.  The  capital  of  that 
bank  consisted  of  successive  loans  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  commencing  in  1694,  in  a  loan  of  £1,200,000 
sterling,  and  continued  by  additional  loans,  at  d  f 
ferent  periods,  until  it  amounts  to  £14,686,000, 
and  bearing  an  interest  all  the  time  at  3  per  cent, 
pel*  annum.  This  is  now  the  capital  of  the 
bank,  and  the  debt  of  the  Government  to  the 
bank,  and  t.he  amount  of  the  Government’s 
direct  securitysh  p  for  the  liabilities  of  the  institu¬ 
tion.  No  such  Government  security  as  this  has 
existed,  or  csn  exist  in  our  country;  and  even 
with  it,  the  Bank  of  England  has  twice  suspended 
specie  payments,  and  once  for  twenty  years;  be¬ 
sides  inflicting  the  ordinary  evils  of  banking  upon 
the  Government  and  the  country.  Proceeding  to 
what  are  called  the  country  banks  in  England, 
Mr,  B.  showed  that  they  were  on  a  safer  footing 
than  the  local  banks  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  first  place,  the  partners  and  stockholders 
were  each  liable  in  his  person  and  property  for 
the  whole  amount  of  the  debts  of  the  insti¬ 
tution;  and  this  liability  continued  in  the  case 
of  joint  stock  partnerships  until  three  rears 
after  a  partner  had  erased  to  belong  to  the  insti¬ 
tution,  for  every  thing  done  whilehe  was  a  mem 
her  of  it.  In  the  nex  .  place,  the  English  banks 
issue  no  note  under  £5,  which  is  both  a  check  up¬ 
on  their  circulation  and  a  diminution  of  the  danger 
of  losses  to  the  community.  In  England,  every 
note  bore  a  government  stamp,  and  paid  a  tax, 
which  was  also  some  restraint  on  issues.  The 
mode  of  payment  was  another,  as  silver  was  only 
a  tender  to  the  amount  of  forty  shillings;  so  that 
country  bank  notes  could  only  be  paid  in  gold,  or 
Bank  of  England  notes,  and  these  latter  could 
only  be  paid  in  gold;  so  that,  directly  or  indirectly, 
gold  was  the  fund  of  redemption  for  the  whole 
English  circulation  ,  which  was  a  far  greater  cheek 
upon  bank  issues  than  silver.  In  the  last  place, 
forgeries  could  be  punished  and  restrained  in 
England,  and  can  hardly  be  punished  or  re¬ 
strained  in  the  United  States.  The  extent  of 
our  country,  and  the  independence*  of  the 
States,  and  their  judiciaries,  interpose  effectual 
barriers  against  the  punishment  of  forgeries  in  one 
State  upon  the  paper  of  other  and  distant  States 
These  differences,  continued  Mr  15.,  show  that 
banking  is  on  a  less  dangerous  footing  in  Great 
'  Britain  than  in  the  United  States;  and  now  what  is 
the  result  of  experience  there?  It  is  fifty  years 
since  the  Adam  Smith  school  established  their  per¬ 
fect  idea  of  a  paper  svstem,  and  brought  into  gene¬ 
ral  use  those  banks  of  issue  on  which  they  lavished 
all  the  ho'iday  phrases  still  in  vogue  in  the  United 
States:  “Well  regulated  specie  paying  banks — 
^  properly  constructed  specie  paying  banks — duly 
restricted  specie  paying  banks— safe  and  solid 


specie  paying  banks.”  It  is  fifty  years  since  these 
phrase  s  ruled  the  legislation  of  Great  Britain;  and 
what  is  the  lesson  which  50  years  experience  has 
taught?  Mr.  B  would  not  answer  this  question  from 
the  writings  of  the  anti-paper  school,  nor  even  from 
the  b  illion  school  of  England;  he  would  answer  it 
from  the  Adam  Smith  school  itself;  from  the  wri¬ 
tings  of  Mr.  M’Guiloch,  Professor  of  Political 
Economy  in  the  University  of  London,  and  the 
present  head  of  the  Adam  Smith  school,  whose 
work  tie  has  recently  edited  with  a  volume  of 
notes  to  show  what  has  happened  since  the  time 
ofDi*.  Smith,  and  what  improvements  the  paper 
system  required  in  England.  Mr.  B.  read  the 
title  of  one  of  his  chapters,  and  some  passages 
bom  the  chapter  itself.  This  is  the  title,  or  in¬ 
dex,  to  the  contents  of  the  chapter: 

“  Quantity  of  Hank  of  England  paper  afloat  at  different  pe¬ 
riods — Effects  produced  on  the  country  hanks  by  a  contraction 
of  the  issues  of  the  Hank  of  England— Destruction  of  country 
bank  paper  in  1793 —  Crisis  of  1797 — Destruction  of  country 
bank  poper  in  1814,1815.  IS16;  also  in  lS25and  1826— Mea¬ 
sures  proposed  in  1826  for  improving  the  state  of  the  currency 
—  Remarks  on  those  measures — Proposal  tor  taking  security 
from  country  banks— Advantages  that  would  result  from  car 
lying  this  proposal  into  effect— Objections  to  it  examined  and 
answered.” 

Mr.  B.  then  read  some  passages  from  the  chap¬ 
ter  itself,  regretting  the  necessity  which  limited 
him  to  few  and  brief  extracts: 

1.  Panic  of 1793. — “The  extended  transactions  of  the  coun¬ 
try  required  I  resh  facilities  for  carrying  them.,on;  amp  in  conse¬ 
quence, 'a  bank  was  erected  in  every  market  town,  and  in  almost 
every  village.  To  lorce  their  paper  into  circulation  was  the 
object  of  all.  The  catastrophe  which  followed  was  such  as 
might  have  been  foreseen.  The  currency  having  become  re¬ 
dundant,  ihe  exchanges  took  an  unfavorable  turn  in  the  early 
part  of  1792;  and  the  Hank  of  England  having  been,  in  conse¬ 
quence,  obliged  to  narrow  her  issues,  a  most  violent  revulsion 
took  place  in  the  end  of  that  year  and  beginning  of  1793.  The 
failure  of  one  or  two  great  houses  excited  a  panic,  which  proved 
fatal  to  myriads  more.  When  this  revulsion  began,  there  were, 
it  is  supposed,  about  350  country  banks  in  England  and  Wales, 
of  which  about  100  were  compelled  to  stop  payment,  and  up¬ 
wards  of  50  more  were  totally  destroyed,  pioducing  by  their  fall 
an  extent  of  misery  and  bankruptcy  that  had  been,  until  then, 
unknown  in  England.” 

2.  Panic  of  1814  — Up  to  1813  there  were  banks  in  almost 
all  parts  of  England,  forcing  their  paper  into  circulation  at  an 
enormous  expense  to  themselves,  'fire  price  of  corn  had  risen' 
to  an  extraordinary  height  in  1813,  and  fell  in  the  beginning  of 
1814.  This  fall  produced  a  want  of  confidence,  and  an  alarm 
among  the  country  bankers  and  their  customers;  and  such  a 
destruction  of  country  paper  took  place  as  has  not  been  par- 
ralleled,  except  only  by  the  revulsion  m  1825:  Hy  1816  no' 
fewer  than  210  country  banks  had  stopped  payments,  and  92 
commissions  of  bankruptcy  were  issued  by  these  establish¬ 
ments.  The  failures  that  then  occurred  were  the  more  dis¬ 
tressing,  as  they  chiefly  affected  the  industrious  and  poorer 
classes,  and  frequently  swallowed  up.  in  an  instant,  the  fruits 
of  a  long  life  of  laborious  exertion.  Thousands  upon  thousands, 
who  had  considered  themselves  affluent,  found  they  were  desti¬ 
tute  of  all  real  property;  and  sunk,  as  if  by  enchantment,  and 
without  any  fault  of  their  own,  into  the  abyss  of  poverty.  The 
universality  of  the  wretchedness*  and  misery  had  never  been 
equalled,  perhaps,  except  by  the  breaking  up  of  the  Mississip¬ 
pi  scheme  in  France.” 

3.  Panic  of  1 825. — “Nations  are  slow  and  reluctant  learn¬ 
ers,  and  it  seems  as  as  if  additional  experience  had  been  neces¬ 
sary  to  convince  the  Parliament  and  people  of  England  that 
there  was  anything  defective  in  a  system  which  hadr  in  two 
previous  instances,  deluged  the  country  with  bankruptcy;, and 
which  enables  every  individual,  however  poor  and  unprincipled, 
who  chooses  to  open  a  money  shop,  to  issue  notes  to  serve  as 
currency  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of  society!  A  rise  of 
prices  and  a  rage  for  specula' ion  took  place  in  1824. ’5.  Many 
of  the  country  bankers  seemed  to  have  no' other  object  than  to 
get  themselves  indebted  to  the  public;  and  such  was  the  vigor 
and  successor  their  efforts  to  get  their  paper  into  circulation, 
that  the  amount  of  it  afloat  in  1825  was  estimated  to  be  near  fifty 
per  cent,  greater  than  the  amount  of  it  afloat'  in  3823  The 
consequences  of  this  extravagant  apd:  unprincipled  conduct  is 
well  known.  The  currency  became  redundant — exchange  be¬ 
gan  to  decline,  and  a  heavy  drain  far  bullion  compelled  the 
Bank  of  England  to  lessen  her  issues.  This  was  the  signal  for 


I 


24 


the  repetition  of  the  tragedy  of  1793.  hut  on  a  much  larger  and 
mare  magnificient  scale,  and  with  more  destructive  conse¬ 
quences.  Sauve  qui  /pent!  Save  himself  who  can!  was  the 
universal  cry;  and  the  destruct  on  of  country  paper  was  so  sud¬ 
den  and  excessive,  that  in  less  than  six  weeks  above  seventy 
badking  (establishments  were  swept  off.” 

This  (sa’;<l  Mr.  B  )  is  McCulloch’s  account  of 
the  three  paper  system  earthquakes  which  have 
taken  place  since  the  time  of  Adam  Smith,  mau- 
gr6  all  his  fine  phrases  about  specie-paying  banks, 
and  bank  notes  equivalent  to  gold,  and  converti¬ 
ble  into  gold  at  the  will  of  the  holder.  Throe 
times  in  twenty-five  years  has  the  whole  blown  up! 
to  say  no  hing  of  the  crisis  of  1797,  and  the  nu¬ 
merous  small  panics  and  individual  explosions 
which  have  filled  up  the  intervals  between  the 
large  ones.  The  result  is  a  conviction  that  banks 
of  issue  must  be  suppressed,  directly  or  indirectly, 
all  over  England.  The  mode  proposed,  is  to  re¬ 
quire  security  fr-;m  them,  in  addition  to  their  indi¬ 
vidual  liability,  and  that  not  the  personal  security 
of  men,  hut  the  real  security  of  lands  mortgaged, 
or  government  stock  pledged.  Mere  is  an  extract 
from  McCulloch  on  this  point  : 

“Whatever  bank  notes  may  be  in  law,  they  are  practically , 
and  i  a  fact,  a  legal  tender.  Toe  great  mass  of  the  people  are 
totally  without  the  power  to  refuse  them.  The  currency  of 
many  extensive  districts  consists  almost  entirely  of  countiy 
notes;  and  such  small  farmers,  tradesmen,  or  laborers,  as 
Bhould  refuse  t©  take  them,  would  be  obliged  to  migrate  else¬ 
where.  There  cannot,  therefore,  as  it  appears  to  me,  be  the 
shadow  ofa  doubt  that  this  is  a  case  in  which  Government  is 
imperiously  called  upon  to  interfere.  We  have  sustained  in- 
coinpara  )ly  more  mischief  from  the  issue  of  spurious  paper 
than  from  that  of  base  coin;  and  in  order  to  obviate  such  mis- 
chiefin  future,  and  to  give  that  security  to  the  public  which 
is  so  essential,  we  have,  as  was  observed  before,  no  alternative, 
but  either  to  suppress  country  notes  altogether,  or  to  require 
security  from  the  issuers.”  '  *  “In  the  case  of  Bank  of 

England  notes,  a  guarantee  is  taken  by  the  Government  for  the 
notes  which  the  bank  issues;  and  the  whole  capital  of  the  bank- 
must  be  lost  before  the  holders  of  the  notes  can  be  sufferers. 
Why  is  nat  the  same  principle  followed  with  respect  to  coun¬ 
try  banks?  What  objection  can  there  be  against  requiring  of 
those  who  take  upon  themselves  the  office  of  furnishing  the 
country  with  a  circulating  medium,  to  deposit#  with  Govern¬ 
ment  an  adequate  security  lor  the  performance  of  tl.eir  engage¬ 
ments?  In  the  use  of  money  every  on?  is  a  trader;  those  whose 
habits  an  1  pursuits  are  little  suited  to  explore  the  median  ism 
of  trade,  are  obliged  to  make  use  of  money,  ami  are  no  rv'ay 
qualified  to  ascertain  the  solidity  of  the  different  banks  whose 
>aper  is  in  circulation;  accordingly  we  find  that  men  living  on 
imited  incomes,  women,  laborers,  and  mechanics  of  all  de¬ 
scriptions,  are  often  severe  sufferers  by  the  failure  of  country 
banks,  which  have  lately  become  frequent  beyond  all  example. 
Against  this  mischief  the  public  should  be  protected  by  requir¬ 
ing  of  every  country  bank  (that  is  to  say  every  bank  except  the 
Bank  of  England,  lor  which  the  Government  is  security  to  the 
whole  amount  of  its  capita!)  to  deposit#  wit  i  Gov  .  rnvnent,  or 
with  Commissioners  appointed  for  that  purpose,  lunded  pro¬ 
perty,  or  other  Government  security,  in  some  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  their  issues.  No  establishment  for  the  issue  of  notes 
could  then  exist,  unless  it  had  been  set  on  toot  by  individuals 
possessed  of  adequate  capital.  And  adventurers,  speculating 
on  the  funds  of  others,  and  sharpers,  anxious  to  get  themselves 
indebted  to  the  public,  would  find  that  banking  was  no  longer  a 
field  on  which  they  could  advantageously  enter.” 

Mr.  B.  would  economise  time  and  words,  and 
procee  d  to  the  practical  application  of  these  ex¬ 
tracts  from  the  present  head  of  the  paper  sys¬ 
tem  school  in  England  It  is  a  surrender  and  pro 
posed  suppression  of  all  banks  of  issue  except  the 
Bank  of  England,  for  which  the  British  Goo  rn- 
vnent  is  the  s  carify  and  the  responsible  backer. 
This  is  what  the  original  of  our  paper  system, 
and  afar  safer  system  than  ours,  has  come  to  in 
England!  Given  up,  and  proscribed  by  the 
school  that  founded  it,  and  that  school  more 
seriously  engaged  now  in  putting  down  their  sys¬ 
tem  than  they  were  fifty  years  ago  in  founding 


it!  And  what  is  the  state  of  things  with  us? 
Not  only  an  appalling  extension  of  the  p.t- 
per  system  through  the  annual  bank  incor¬ 
porations  of  nearly  thirty  Legislatures,  State 
and  territorial,  but  this  attempt  now  made  n  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  to  compel  the  adop¬ 
tion  ofall  the  State  and  Territorial  paper  systems, 
existing  or  to  exist,  by  the  Federal  Government; 
and  thus  to  make  out  of  this  multifarious  mass,  a 
national  paper  cunency.  Fhis  is  the  effect:  and, 
without  disturbing  the  States  in  the  use  of  this 
paper  then. selves,  Mr  B.  confined  himself  to  the 
question  before  the  Senate,  namely,  the  adoption 
ofthe  whole  of  it  for  the  currency  of  the  Federal 
Government.  To  this  he  bad  insuperable  and  inexo- 
ab!e  objections,  founded,  first,  upon  the  constitution 
of  the  United.  Stales;  and,  next,  upon  the  unspeaka¬ 
ble  mischiefs  ofthe  scheme.  On  the  constitutional 
p<  int  lie  would  be  brief,  limiting  himself  to  the 
words  of  tiie  instrument,  and  to  Mr.  Madison’s 
Commentary. 

The  constitution  says: 

Gongress  shall  have  power: 

“To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures.” 

“  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securi¬ 
ties  amt  rurient  coin  of  the  United  States.” 

“No  State  shall  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any 
thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts.” 

Mr.  Madison,  in  No.  44  of  the  Federalist,  soys: 

“  The  loss  which  America  has  sustained  since  the  peace,  from 
the  pestilent  effects  of  paper  money  on  the  necessary  confidence 
between  man  and  man;  on  the  necessary  confidence  in  the  public 
councils;  on  the  industry  and  morals  of  the  people,  and  on  the 
character  of  republican  government,  constitutes  an  enormous 
debt,  against  the  States,  chargeable  with  this  unadvised  meas¬ 
ure,  which  must  long  remain  unsatisfied;  or  rathei  an  accumu¬ 
lation  of  guiit,  which  can  be  expiated  no  otherwise  than  by  a 
voluntary  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  justice  of  the  power  which 
has  been  the  instrument  of  it.  In  addition  to  these  persuasive 
considerations,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  same  reasons  which 
sliow  the  necessity  of  denying  to  the  States  the  power  of  regula¬ 
ting  coin,  prove,  w-ith  equal  force,  that  they  ought  not  to  be  at 
liberty  to  substitute  a  paper  medium  in  the  place  of  coin.  *  ’  * 
The  power  to  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts  is  withdrawn  from  tiie  States,  on  the  same 
principle  with  that  of  issuing  a  paper  currency.” 

Resting  the  constitutional  objection  to  this  adop¬ 
tion  of  tiie  State  paper  currencies  for  the  curren¬ 
cy  of  the  Federal  Government  where  the  constitu¬ 
tion  and  Mr.  Madison  had  put  it,  and  merely  refer¬ 
ring  to  the  great  revenue  acts  of  1789  and  1800, 
for  the  correct  exposition  of  the  constitution,  in 
limiting  the  receipts  for  the  customs  and  the  lands 
to  ‘ ‘  gold  and  silver  coin  only,*’  and  “  to  specie  or 
evidences  of  the  public  debt,”  Mr.  B.  would  state 
the  heads,  and  the  heads  only,  of  the  objections  to 
the  expediency  of  the  measure.  Premising  that, 
what  the  Government  received,  as  cash,  would 
have  to  be  paid  out  as  cash,  and  that  if  local  paper 
was  received  at  ad,  it  w  ould  soon  be  received  to¬ 
la  ly  at.d  to  the  exclusion  of  specie,  and  that  lo¬ 
cal  paper  would  thus  become  the  actual  currency 
of  the  Government  and  the  country,  until  relieved 
from  it  by  a  general  explosion,  Mr.  B.  went  oil 
to  enumerate  the  practical  evils  of  such  an  uncon¬ 
stitutional  currency. 

1.  The  destruction  of  the  standard,  or  measure 
of  value.  Paper  money,  neither  is,  ev?r  was,  or 
ever  can  be,  a  standard  of  value.  Its  quantity  va¬ 
ries  at  the  will  of  man,  or  rather  at  the  will  of 
each  ofthe  thousand  NepAines  who  preside  over 


25 


| 

the  ocean  of  panel';  and  not  only  at  their  will,  but 
without  their  will,  in  the  mere  imprudence  or  folly 
of  those  who  direct  pi  per  issues,  and  the  thousand 
causes  which  operate  upon  die  expansion  and 
contract  on  of  banks.  The  standard,  or  measure 
of  va’ue,  is  at  this  moment  materially  altered  in 
the  United  States.  Tins  is  seen  in  the  increased 
price  of  every  article  which  depends  for  its  price 
.  upon  the  domestic  market;  and  it.  is  proved  by  the 
stationary  or  reduced  price  of  every  article  which 
depended  for  its  price  on  foreign  markets.  Cot¬ 
ton  and  tobacco  werv  in  this  latter  class,  and 
had  not  risen,  but  rather  fallen;  all  articles  of 
home  use  and  consumption  were  in  the  former, 
and  all  had  risen,  some  one  half,  some  dou¬ 
ble.  The  precious  meta’s,  from  their  uniformity  of 
production,  difficulty  of  suddenly  and  violently 
changing  the  quantity  and  intrinsic  value  all  over 
the  world,  can  alone  make  a  standard  or  measure 
of  value.  Our  constitution  has  guarantied  that 
standard  to  us;  and  it  is  our  sacred  duty  to  pre¬ 
serve  it.  Mr.  B.  finished  his  remarks  on  this  point 
with  a  quotation  from  Mr.  McCulloch,  preferring 
his  authority  to  others  because  l  ie  was  of  the  paper 
system  school,  though  now  limiting'  bis  system  to 
the  Rank  of  England  only: 

“NodouVt  has  ever  been  insinuated  with  respect  to  the  ex¬ 
pediency  of  the  regulations  by  which  all  weights  and  measures 
of  the  snme  denomination  are  rendered  equal.  But  monev  ip 
not  a  commodity  merely;  it  is  also  the  STANDARD  or  MEA¬ 
SURE'-,  adopted  by  the  society  by  which  to  estimate  and  com¬ 
pare  the  value  of  every  thinrr  else  that  is  bought  and  sold;  and 
if  it  he,  as  it  most  undoubtedly  is,  the  duty  of  Government  to 
adopt  every  practicable  meaYis  for  remedying  all  foot-rules  of 
the  same  length,  and  all  bushels  of  the  same  capacity,  it  must 
he  still  more  incumbent  upon  it  to  omit  nothing  to  render  mo¬ 
ney,  or  the  MEASURE  of  VALUE,  a  measure  which  is  beyond 
all  question  the  most  important  of  any  used  in  society,  uniform 
or  steady  in  its  value.'’ 

2.  Usury.  This,  he  said,  was  a  direct  effect  of 
paper  money.  The  more  banks  of  issue,  the 
higher  the  rate  of  interest.  Common  bank  inte¬ 
rest  in  the  United  States  is  seven  per  cent,  or  more, 
which  is  double  the  rate  of  interest  in  Holland, 
where  thero  is  no  paper.  But  common  interest  is 
nothing  compared  to  the  usury  which  ensues  great 
banking,  and  which  becomes  enormous  when 
banks,  from  necessity  or  mischief,  slop  discounts 
and  throw  borrowers  upon  money  dealers.  Three 
per  cent  discount  per  month  is  then  the  order  of 
things;  and  this  may  now  be  seen  in  Philadelphia, 
where  the  United  States  Bmk,  with  its  thirty-five 
millions  capital,  on  becoming  a  State  institution, 
was  to  fill  the  State  with  money  and  reduce  inte¬ 
rest  to  five  per  cer.t.  But  that  bank  does  lend  to 
some  borrowers  at  five  per  cent,  or  less.  The  cor¬ 
respondence  of  the  commissioners  employed  in 
examining  the  state  of  the  bank,  preparatory  to 

*  the  settlement  of  the  value  of  the  United  States  ! 
stock,  shows  a  miss  of  loa-is  to  the  amount  of  j 
20,337,136  00  of  dollars,  on  extended  or  in¬ 
definite  time,  and  at  rates  from  4|,  5,  5£,  to  6 
per  cent,  per  annum.  No  doubt  many  of  the 
three  per  cent,  per  month  borrowers  get  their  sup 
plies  from  a  part  of  those  loans. 

3.  Panics,  convulsions,  and  stoppages.  These 
(«aid  Mr.  B.)  are  inherent  in  the  paper  system. 
They  take  place  in  England  in  defiance  of  all  pow¬ 
er  in  the  Government  and  the  banks  themselves 

^  do  keep  them  down.  There,  n»  panics  are  perpe- 


,  t rated  to  scourge  the  country,  or  to  overset  the 
Government;  save  and  except  the  two  political 
ones  lately  seen,  Mr.  O’Connor’s,  and  the^  one 
during  the  interregnum  of  Lord  Grey’s  administra¬ 
tion.  But  here,  panics  are  the  regular  work  of 
banks  and  politicians,  and  are  now  looked  for 
wlie never  an  important  election  is  depending',  or 
Congress  is  to  be  excited. 

4.  The  expenses  of  the  paper  system.  This  was 
probably  greater  at  present  than  the  expenses  of. 
the  Federal  Government,  and  the  whole  a  tax 
upon  the  productive  classes.  The  number  of 
banks  was  about  one  thousand;  each  bank  had  its 
officers,  and  they  their  salaries;  each  had  its  stock¬ 
holders,  and  they  their  profits.  Then  came  losses 
for  broken  banks,  counterfeits  and  depreciated 
paper;  and  changes  in  the  value  of  properly  from 
expansions  and  contractions  of  the  currency. 
These  oxpenses  and  losses  were  the  price  paid  by 
the  people  for  a  paper  currency;  when  they  can 
get  constitutional  currency  from  the  mints,  without 
paying  salaries,  furnishing  profit.*,  or  sustaining 
losses,  if  paper  was  checked  and  confined  to 
large  notes. 

5.  Stock  gambling,  forgeries,  banishment  of  all 
gold  and  silver,  were  all  great  evils  inherent  in 
the  paper  system,  and  too  obvious  to  need,  or  even 
to  endure,  commentary.  Mr.  B.  therefore,  barely 
named  them,  and  left  every  one’s  knowledge  and 
memory  to  do  the  rest. 

Mr.  B.  approached  the  conclusion  ©f  his  re¬ 
marks  on  this  great  subject.  It  was  indeed  a 
great  subject,  involving  that  momentous  question, 
the  national  currency-  The  Treasury  order  was 
a  measure  of  regulation  upon  the  State  banks,  in¬ 
tended  to  save  the  finances,  and  the  currency,  as 
well  as  the  public  hinds.  The  Banksf  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States  regulated  (he  State  banks  by  the  simple 
process  of  excluding  their  paper  from  the  federal 
receipts  and  expenditures;  and  this  was  effected 
by  the  24th  and  25th  articles  of  the  by-laws  of 
the  corporation  already7  read.  She  excluded  them 
to  make  room  for  her  own  notes;  and  this  was  the 
extent  of  her  skill,  and  of  her  merit,  in  all  this 
boasted  regulation  of  focal  currencies  of  which  we 
hear  so  much.  The  Federal  Go/ernment  has  only 
to  do  the  same,  a7id  the  State  bank  issues  are  re¬ 
pelled  upon  their  sources,  and  become  compara¬ 
tively  harmless.  It  is  receivability  for  federal  dues; 
it  is  receivob  lity  at  the  land  offices, custom-houses, 
and  post  offices,  which  gives  them  wrings  to  fly 
over  the  continent,  and  enables  them  to  pass  with¬ 
out  regard  to  the  credit  or  solvency  of  the  bank 
from  which  they  come.  It  is  the  Federal  Govern¬ 
ment  endorsement  which  does  the  mischief;  and. 
this  endorsement,  for  all  the  purposes  of  false 
credit,  and  want  of  responsibility,  is  given  to  the 
whole  issue  of  every  hank  whose  paper  is  made 
receivable  for  public  dues.  The  experiment  Sias 
been  tried,  and  local  paper  has  failed  as  a  national 
currency,  and  out  of  that  failure  arose  the  second 
United  States  Ba«*.k.  It  will  fail  again!  and  again! 
and  forever!  There  is  no  safety  for  the  federal 
revenues,  but  in  the  total  exclusion  of  local  paper,, 
and  that  from  every  branch  of  the  revenue — cus¬ 
toms,  lands,  and  post  office.  There  is  no  safety 
for  the  national  finances,  but  in  the  const*- 


26 


tutional  medium  of  gold  and  silver.  After 
forty  years  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness 
of  paper  money,  we  have  approached  the 
confines  of  the  constitutional  medium.  Seven¬ 
ty-five  millions  of  specie  in  the  country,  with  the 
prospect  of  annual  increase  of  ten  or  twelve  mil¬ 
lions  for  the  next  four  years,  three  branch  mints  to 
commence  next  spring,  and  the  complete  restora¬ 
tion  of  the  gold  currency,  announce  the  success  of 
President  Jackson’s  great  measures  for  the  reform 
of  the  currency,  and  vindicate  the  Constitution 
from  the  libel  of  having  prescribed  an  impractica¬ 
ble  currency.  The  success  is  complete;  and  there 
is  no  way  to  thwart  it,  but  to  put  down  the  Trea¬ 
sury  border,  and  to  reopen  the  public  lands  to  the 
inundation  of  paper  money.  Of  this,  it  is  not 
to  be  dissembled,  there  is  great  danger. 
Pour  deeply  interested  classes  are  at  work 
to  do  it  ;  speculators,  local  banks,  United 
States  Bank,  and  politicians  out  of  power.  They 
may  succeed,  but  he,  Mr.  B.  w  ould  not  despair. 
The  darkest  hour  of  the  night  is  just  before  the 
break  of  day;  and,  through  the  gloom  ahead,  he 
saw  the  bright  vision  of  the  constitutional  curren¬ 
cy,  erect,  radiant,  and  victorious.  Through  re¬ 
gulation,  or  explosion,  success  must  eventually 
come.  If  reform  measures  go  on,  gold  and  silver 
will  be  gradually  and  temperately  restored;  if  re¬ 
form  measures  are  stopped,  then  the  paper  system 
runs  riot,  and  explodes  from  its  own  expansion. 
Then  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  will  exult 
in  the  catastrophe,  and  claim  its  own  re-establish¬ 
ment,  as  the  only  adequate  regulator  of  the  local 
banks.  Then  it  will  be  said  the  specie  experi¬ 
ment  has  failed.  But  no.  The  contrary  will  be 
known;  that  the  specie  experiment  has  not  failed, 
but  it  was  put  down  by  the  voice  and  power  of 
the  interested  classes,  and  must  be  put  up  again  by 
the  voice  and  power  of  the  disinterested  commu¬ 
nity. 

APPENDIX  TO  MR.  BENTON’S  SPEECH. 

I.  That  the  banks  themselves,  by  contractions 
and  expansions  of  the  currency,  lead  to  fluctuations 
which  affect  the  prices  of  produce  and  property, 
and  beget  panics. 

1.  Extract  from  the  testimony  of  Joseph  C. 
Dyer.  Esq.  Director  of  the  Bank  of  Manchester, 
taken  before  Lord  Althorpe’s  committee: 

//je  Bank  of  England ,  the  cause  of  fluctuations  and 
pantcs.  —  The  bank  has  been  the  cause  of  the  panics.  Their 
manner  of  issuing  and  withdrawing  the 'Bank  ol  England  pa- 
per,  produces  those  continued  fluctuations,  at  shorf  periods 
wr.ich  affect  the  prices  in  the  market,  and  thereby  affect  trade.’) 
J  hose  issues,  sometimes  in  a  single  week,  vary  three  or  four 
millions.  The  bank  may  be  necessitated  to  do  so,  but  such  a 
necessity  is  that  of  inflicting  a  great  evil  on  the  country.  The 
returns  ol  the  weekly  issues  from  the  28th  of  December,  181b 
to  February  4th,  1826,  prove  witness3s  statement. 

'  Fhe  reason  why  it  is  necessary  to  make  an  alteration  in  the 
hanging  system  of  Lancashire,  is,  that  the  circulation  by  the 
Bank  of  England  subjects  the  trade  to  fluctuations,  and  exercises 
a  pernicious  influence  over  the  destinies  of  commerce.  This 
expansion  and  contraction  of  the  circulation  induce  similar  ef 
lects  to  a  ruinous  extent.  All  the  periods  of  panic  may  be  attri¬ 
buted  to  that  power  exercised  in  secret,  and  of  which  the  public 
can  have  no  knowledge,  until  it  has  accomplished  its  results  It 
stimulates  over-issues  in  thecountry,  raises  andlowers  the  value 
ol  money  capriciously,  and  erects  its  own  security  on  the  inse¬ 
curity  ol  country  bankers.  “Such  a  company,  possessing  such 
influence  so  exercised,  is  a  dangerous  company;  and  plans  can 


be  devised  to  procure  a  better  circulation  than  the  present,  i» 
whic  Inhere  is  neither  stability  nor  steadiness.” 

2.  Extract  from  the  preface  to  the  digest  ol 
evidence  taken  beford  Lord  Althorpe’s  committee 
in  1832: 

“The  records  of  past  history  have  invariably  designated  a 
time  of  peace  as  one  of  prosperity  and  happiness.  But  ever 
since  the  last  war,  the  different  great  interests  of  this  country 
have  been  in  a  continued  state  of  fluctuation  between  the  ex¬ 
tremes  of  prosperity  and  adversity;  though  the  latter  has  unfor¬ 
tunately  predominated.  *  *  4  *  In  the  beginning  of  that 

year,  (1825,)  every  class  of  the  community  was  doing  well,  il 
not  in  a  state  of  great  prosperity.  But  a  change  took  place  in 
the  currency,  by  the  Bank  of  England  contracting  their  issues. 
The  general  prosperity,  without  any  other  visible  cause,  imme¬ 
diately  received  a  check;  and  as  the  Bank  continued  to  contract 
their  issues,  matters  became  worse,  until  they  ended  in  the 
panic.  By  this  a  total  derangement  of  the  monetary  system  was 
occasioned,  and  every  class  of  the  community  was  thrown  into  a 
state  of  embarrassment;  the  injurious  and  depressing  effects  of 
which  continued  for  some  years,  and  this  without  any  other  ap¬ 
parent  cause  than  the  monetary  derangement  which  had  occur¬ 
red.”  *  *  *  *  “  An  undue  issue  of  four  or  five  millions  by 

the  Ban!:,  (of England,)  would  eventually  make  an  extraordinary 
derangement  in  the  value  of  all  the  property  in  the  kingdom, 
and  be  productive  of  infinite  mischief  in  a  variety  of  ways.” 

3.  Further  extract  from  the  testimony  of  J.  C. 
Dyer,  Esq. 

“  I  think  the  banks,  so  far  from  having  saved  the  country 
from  the  effects  of  those  panics,  have  been  the  cause  of  those 
panics;  and  that  they  have  been  the  cause  of  a  constant  succes¬ 
sion  of  little  panics,  continually  annoying  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  by  monthly  and  weekly  fluctuations.” 

4.  Extract  from  the  testimony  of  Benjamin  J. 
Smith,  Esq.  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Manches¬ 
ter,  before  Lord  Aithorpe’s  committee: 

“The  supply  of  the  circulation  by  the  Bank  of  England  sub¬ 
jects  our  trade  to  great  and  injurious  fluctuations,  owing  to 
what  is  called  a  scarcity  of  money,  arising  from  causes  of  which, 
the  public,  who  are  deeply  interested  in  that  question,  can  have 
no  knowledge.  The  objections  to  the  existing  system  are,  that 
the  Bank  of  England  has  a  secret  and  despotic  influence  and 
control  over  the  destinies  of  our  commerce,  which  we  fee?  to  be 
a  most  pernicious  one.” 

II.  No  local  banks  of  issue  in  the  great  county 
of  Lancashire,  including  Liverpool  and  Manches¬ 
ter.  Inland  bills  of  exchange  used  in  large  deal¬ 
ings;  gold  in  the  common  transactions. 

1.  Extract  from  the  evidence  of  J.  C.  Dyer, 
Esq.  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Manchester,  before 
Lord  Althorpe’s  committee: 

“The  bankers  in  Manchester  who  can,  do  not,  issue  notes 
in  consequence  of  the  strong  feeling  that  prevails  in  Lancashire 
against  local  paper.  There  were  two  occasions  when  that 
feeling  was  publicly  expressed;  first,  in  1834,  and  next  when 
the  Bank  of  Manchester  was  formed.  Bankers  who  intended  to 
issue  notes  abandoned  their  intention,  from  a  conviction 
that  they  could  not,  under  any  such  circumstances,  derive  any 
profit  from  the  issue.” 

2.  Extract  from  Mr.  McCulloch’s  Notes  on  Adam 
Smith’s  wo  rk: 

“  The  principal  distinction  between  notes  and  bills  of  ex¬ 
change  is,  that  every  individual  passing  a  bill  of  exchange  has 
to  endorse  ir,  and  by  so  doing  makes  himself  responsible  for  its 
contents.  Nothing  can  be  more  inaccurate  than  to  represent 
bank  notes  andhills  of  exchange  under  the  same  point  of  view. 
The  note  is  payable  on  the  instant,  without  deduction — <he  bi!l 
not  until  some  future  period,  The  note  may  he  ■usped  to  ano¬ 
ther,  without  incurring  any  risk  or  responsibility  while  every 
endorser  ol  the  hill  makes  himself  liable  for  the  value  of  it. 
Bank  notes  form  the  currency  of  all  classes,  of  'those  who  are 
not  engaged  in  business,  of  women,  children,  laboreis,  <fcc.  who 
are  all,  as  we  have  seen,  without  the  power  to  refuse  them,  and 
without  tin;  means  of  forming  any  correct  conclusion  as  to  the 
solvency  of  the  issuers.  Bills  of  exchange,  en  the  other  hand, 
pass  only,  with  very  few  exceptions,  between  persons  engage 
in-business,  and  who  are  fully  aware  of  the  risk  they  run  io 
taking  them.” 

3.  Further  extract  from  McCulloch’s  notes: 

“The  effect  produced  by  the  employment  of  internal  bills  of 
exchange,  have  not  certainly  excited  that  attention  on  the  part 


27 


of  most  of  those  who  hare  speculated  on  the  subject  of  currency, 
that  might  reasonably  have  been  expected;  but  this  seems  to  have 
arisen  chiefly  from  their  having  been  but  very  imperfectly  aware 
of  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  transactions  settled  by  their  interven¬ 
tion,  and  of  the  extent  to  which  they  are  employed.  In  the  great 
manufacturing  county  of  Lancashire,  and  in  part  of  Yorkshire- 
abill  on  London  at  three  months  is  reckoned  a  money  payment; 
and  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  currency  consists  either 
of  the  bills  of  bankers  drawn  on  their  correspondents,  or  of  those 
of  the  merchants  and  dealers  scattered  up  and  dow  n  'lie  coun¬ 
try.  The  following  extracts  from  the  evidence  given  before  the 
committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  on  Scotch  and  Irish  currency, 
in  the  session  of  1826,  show  the  great  extent  to  which  internal 
bills  are  now  employed.  Mr.  Gladstone,  an  eminent  merchant 
of  Liverpool,  informed  the  committee  that,  ‘We  sell  our  goods, 
not  for  payments  in  cash,  such  as  are  usual  in  other  places,  but 
generally  at  credits  from  ten  days  to  three  months  date;  these 
bills  we  pay  to  our  bankers,  and  receive  from  them  bills 
or  cash.  We  have  a  considerable  portion  of  large  Lank 
of  England  notes  in  circulation;  these  are  generally  used  for 
the  payment  of  duties,  and  also  for  tiie  purpose  of  remit¬ 
tance;  but  the  great  mass  of  our  circulation  is  in  bills  of  ex¬ 
change.  Sovereigns  and  smaller  bank  notes  are  only  required 
lor  such  objects  as  charges  of  merchandise,  with  duties, 
freights,  and  other  items.’  Lewis  Lloyd,  Esq.  ‘The  wages 
of  workmen  are  paid  in  gold  or  Bank  of  England  notes;  the 
manufacturer  is  chiefly  paid  in  hills  of  exchange.  When  a  bill 
is  drawn  in  favor  of  a  manufacturer,  he  endorses  it  to  the  per¬ 
son  to  whom  lie  pays  it,  ami  the  person  to  whom  he  pays  it 
pays  it  again  to  another;  and  it  goes  on  often  till  it  is  covered 
with  endorsements.  Mr.  Henry  Burgess,  a  manufacturer  at 
Leeds:  “The  great  mass  of  the  circulating  medium  of  Lan- 
cashiie,  as  in  all  the  manufacturing  districtsin  the  north,  is 
bills  of  exchange:  a  part  of  the  circulation  is  in  gold  andsilver, 
and  Bank  of  England  notes. 

III.  Suppression  of  all  banks  of  issue  in  Eng¬ 
land,  except  the  Bank  of  England,  directly  by 
law,  or  indirectly,  by  compelling  them  to  give  se¬ 
curity  for  their  issues. 

1.  Extract  from  Mr.  Culloch’s  notes  on  Adam 
Smith: 

“  It  seems,  therefore,  to  be  indispensable,  either  that  the 
country  banks  should  be  compelled,  as  has  been  previously 
proposed,  to  give  full  security  for  their  issues,  or  that  their  pa¬ 
per  should  be  suppressed  altogether,  and  the  paper  of  the  Bank 
of  England,  substituted  in  its  place.  *****  Now,  it  is 
obvious,  and  is  indeed  universally  admitted,  that  the  only  mea¬ 
sure  that  can  be  adopted  for  guarding  completely  against  the 
misconduct,  as  well  as  the  bad  faith  of  the  country  bankers,  is 
to  compel  them  to  give  full  security  for  the  payment  of  their 
notes.  Tii is,  and  this  alone,  can  afford  a  sufficient  guarantee 
to  the  public  that  the  country  paper  in  circulation  will  be  re¬ 
turned  when  presented  for  payment,  and  that  it  is  really  equiva¬ 
lent  to  gold. 

“Every  country  banker.on  applying  for  stamps,  should  be  re¬ 
quired,  and  obliged,  previously  to  obtaining  them,  to  lodge  in 
the  hands  of  Government,  securities  in  stocks  or  in  landed  es¬ 
tates,  fully  equivalent  to  the  amount  of  the  stamps  issued  to 
him.” 

2.  Extract  from  the  testimony  of  Henry  Bur¬ 
gess,  Esq.  Secretary  of  the  Committee  of  Country 
Banks,  representing  seven-eighths  of  the  bankers  in 
England,  who  have  resolved  to  relinquish  their  cir¬ 
culation,  rather  than  give  security  for  it: 

“Theonly  strong  opinion  to  which  the  committee  havecorne, 
is,  that  of  securities  for  their  issues  were  demanded,  th<*y  would 
relinquish  their  issues  altogether.  That  resolution  was  embo¬ 
died  in  a  petition  to  Parliament.  *  *  *  *  The  chief  reason 

why  country  bankers  would  cease  to  issue  notes,  if  called  upon 
for  securities,  is,  that  it  would  be  giving  a  preference  to  one 
class  of  creditors  over  another;  besides,  giving  securities  would 
be  locking  up  their  money  in  the  funds,  which  money  would 
thus  he  unavailable,  and  be  also  placed  at  risk.  *  *  *  Bo 

they  would  prefer  to  give  up  their  circulation.” 

IV.  Extract  from  the  report  of  the  commission¬ 
ers  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to 
examine  into  the  debts  and  affairs  of  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  to  ascertain  the  value  of  the 
stock,  showing  above  twenty  millions  of  loans  at 
low  interest  for  long  terms,  or  indefinite  terms, 
and  explaining  the  reason  why  borrowers  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  are  thrown  upon  brokers  at  two  and  three 
per  cent,  discount  per  month. 


1.  Statement  of  the  debts  of  the  Bank  ©f  the 
United  States,  frc.  on  the  3d  March,  1836: 


NOTE  9 

i  DISCOnNTEO. 

A. 

On  hank  stock 

at  6  pr.  ct. 

1,291,515  72 

B. 

On  various  stocks  and  other  »e- 

curities 

do. 

4,061,553  71 

LOANS  DRAWINC  INTEREST. 

C. 

On  bank  stock 

.  at  5  pr.  ct. 

1,294,800  00 

D. 

On  do. 

6  do. 

46G,;iOO  00 

E. 

On  various  stocks  and 

other 

securities 

4  do. 

250.000  00 

F. 

do. 

4&  tlo. 

652.818  63 

G. 

do. 

5"  do. 

4,551.865  65 

11. 

do. 

5  do. 

1,324,100  00 

I. 

do. 

5  do. 

1,000,000  00 

K. 

do. 

5  do. 

355,500  00 

L. 

do. 

5{-  do. 

474,600  00 

M. 

do. 

6  do. 

1,296,678  00 

N. 

do. 

6  do. 

3,317,605  09 

Total  as  above, 

20,337,138  80 

The  length  of  time  for  which  some  of  these 
loans  are  made,  is  thus  stated  in  the  report: 


f>  per  cent.  C,  due  24th  August,  1837. 

6  per  cent.  D,  “ when  due  immfititrial  ”  ’ 

4  per  cent.  E,  due  21st  November,  1840. 

4|  per  cent.  F,  due  1st  April,  1838. 

5  per  cent.  G,  due  1 5th  March,  1838. 

5  per  cent.  II,  due  8th  October,  1838. 

5  percent.  I,  due  1st  December,  1855. 

5  percent.  K,  “ time  of  payment  indefinite."  * 

5£  per  cent.  L,  due  12th  January,  1838. 

6  per  cent.  M,  '■'■when  due  immaterial 

6  per  cent.  N,  “ when  due  immaterial.”  * 

2.  Statement  of  loans  from  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  to  Thomas  Biddle  &  Co.  in  the  years 
1830,  *31,  ’32,  taken  from  the  report  of  Mr.  Clay¬ 
ton’s  committee  of  1832,  and  now  to  be  referred, 
as  illustrative  of  some  of  the  above  loans  on  stocks 
or  personal  security: 


5S1LL2  .  tt ■  ■  -  --- ~  el ' ~~  r~ <iagn'r~^ 


Year. 

Month. 

Paper. 

Discounter. 

Rate. 

1830 

Sept. 

17 

$144,950 

*lTO 

© 

o 

© 

#\ 

© 

C4 

5  percent 

Oct. 

15 

1,131,672 

1,123,100 

5  do 

Nov. 

16 

737,112 

730,000 

5  d© 

Dec. 

14 

737,012 

730,000 

5  do 

1831 

Jan. 

14 

722,300. 

720,000 

5  do 

Feb. 

15 

540,400 

540,400 

5  df> 

March 

15 

400,000 

400,000 

5  do 

April 

15 

480,000 

480,000 

5  do 

May 

37 

443,098 

443,138 

4^  &5 

June 

14 

571,178 

557,968 

do 

July 

15 

501,162 

504,912 

5  do 

Aug. 

16 

573,912 

579,912 

5  do 

Sept. 

16 

573,912 

683,995 

5  &  6 

Oct. 

14 

580,000 

698,727  1 

do 

Nov. 

15 

580,000 

752,647 

do 

Dec. 

16 

580,000 

689,125 

do 

1832 

Jan. 

17 

580,000 

652,338 

do 

Feb. 

17 

407,766 

488,328 

5  do 

3.  Further  extract  from  Mr.  Clayton’s  report  of 
1832,  t»  illustrate  the  conduct  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  S' ales  in  loaning  much  to  the  few,  and  lit¬ 
tle  to  the  many,  and  explanatory  of  ihe  present 
condition  of  the  money  market  in  Philadelphia, 
where  small  borrowers  for  short  terms  pay  3  per 
cent,  per  month  discount  for  money,  which  may 
have  come  from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  to  a 


*Thes©  are  the  words  of  the  Bank  state¬ 
ment. 


'ftrge  borrower 
or  on  immateriii 
April,  18  >2, 

(I 

tl 

id 

it 


on  a.  term  of  years,  or  indefinitely, 
lily  of  time: 


loans  to  72 

persons, 

$2,404,2 73 

do 

19 

do 

1,274,882 

do 

3 

do 

341,729 

do 

4 

do 

995,456 

do 

1 

person, 

417,766 

Whole  amount  of  loans  discounted  at  the  same 
time  $5,964,085 

O:  which  to  99  persons  -  5,434,111 


To  all  other  persons,  $529,974 

CO'These  are  the  loans  of  the  Notional  Bank  at 
Philadelphia,  April,  1832. 


Totals,  99  persons,  $5,434,111 


* 

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